How a new generation of Latino men is redefining masculinity through politics

For years, Donald Trump has made derogatory statements about Latinos and immigrants. Still, Trump won 47% of the Latino vote in 2024, a larger margin than ever before and the highest share ever for a Republican presidential candidate.

This shift demonstrates the complex interweaving of economic challenges, the influence of social media and changing cultural dynamics, especially among young Latino men. Trends show Latinos are voting more conservatively, even in big cities like Chicago And Philadelphia.

“Young Latinos don’t have the same muscle memory as their grandparents, who voted Democratic for 50 years,” Republican media strategist. Giancarlo Sopowho worked on Latino outreach for the Trump 2020 campaign, reported to Reuters on Thursday.

In particular, young Latino men who grew up in conservative families also consumemanosphere” content promoting hyper-masculinity, and the same content creators they follow, have expressed support for Trump.

Latinos are not a monolith, but they may have concerns

While political scientists often view Latino voters as a single bloc, their experiences range from fifth-generation Mexican Americans in Texas to recent Venezuelan immigrants in Florida, with each group bringing different political perspectives and priorities.

For example, American Society/Council of America (AS/COA) breakdown of the Latino vote by heritage shows Cubans led the Latino vote for Trump with 58%. Historically, most Cubans in the US are Republicans and have higher voter turnout than other Latino communities. During the Cold War conflict, this group was also granted entry to the USA in which no other Latino group was admitted, creating a different immigrant story and creating a distance between Cubans in America and other refugees and immigrants.

“Despite our good fortune, too many Cuban Americans in South Florida callously support the MAGA cause. anti-immigration treatment of equally deserving refugees. Too often, my fellow Cuban-Americans allow their sense of exceptionalism to cloud their hearts. Have decades of comfort extinguished their compassion?” Cuban-American columnist Lisette Alvarez wrote to Washington Post article, 2022.

By comparison, South Americans were the second largest Latino group for Trump, with 41% of the vote. They are followed by 37% of Puerto Ricans and 36% of Central Americans. About 33% of Mexicans voted for Trump. according to AS/COA.

Immigration is a familiar origin story for Latinos, but that has changed. Not only 81% Hispanics in the US citizens, but most were born in the United States. In 2020, 68% of the country’s Hispanics were born here, up from 60% in 2000. according to UCLA.

Balta said politicians view Latinos through the lens of their race and culture, but do not appeal to how Latinos view themselves as Americans. Many of them are blue collar workers who feel ignored by the establishment.

“So when we talk about the Hispanic electorate, we’re talking about American citizens, not just naturalized citizens… and then you’re also talking about the second, third (and) four and five generations of Hispanics in Texas, so they largely believe ourselves as Americans,” he said.

Despite being away from their countries of origin, many of whom have strong religious and masculine influences in their culture, young U.S.-born Latinos are facing a new wave of conservatism pushed by the media they consume.

Despite years of abuse, Latinos voted for Trump

Trump’s historic gains among Latino voters came despite a long history of controversial messages about the community. In his 2015 Presidential Campaign Announcementhe characterized Mexican immigrants as “drug bringers… criminals… rapists.” The wall he promised on the Mexican border remains mostly unfinishedWith Mexico refuses to spend a penny. Most recently he aimed Venezuelan immigrants as criminals and made unsubstantiated statements about Haitian immigrants eat cats and dogs during the 2024 presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.

The latest setback aimed at Latinos occurred on October 27 during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, when comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico “floating island made of garbage“, a statement that did not take root in the city home to 574,000 Puerto Ricans.

Despite all this, Trump has made historic gains among Latino voters.

More Latinos voted for Trump this year than in the last election, with 45% of the vote, 13% more than he did in 2020. according to NBC exit pollswhich is a record for a Republican presidential candidate. Although cross-sectional data on how many young Latinos chose Trump has not been released, exit poll data what is available reveals a lot:

• 55% of Hispanic men and 38% of Hispanic women voted for Trump.
• 40% Hispanic voters people aged 18 to 29 voted for Trump, compared with 43% of all voters aged 18 to 29.

“While the dust is yet to settle on how Latinos actually voted in this election, it is clear that our community is primarily concerned with the economy and the same pocketbook issues as other Americans, such as rising costs of food, housing and other essentials. Deep concerns about inflation and the need to make ends meet almost exclusively influenced how Latinos voted in this election.” UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguia This was stated in a statement on Thursday.

Throughout the political season, polls have consistently shown the economy to be the top issue for the vast majority of Latinos. Survey published by Pew Research Center In September, it found that 85% of Latinos said the economy was important to their vote this year, but among Latinos who said they were voting for Trump, 93% said the economy was their top issue, followed by violent crime (73%) and immigration. 71%.

“Latinos were saying, ‘I don’t care what Trump says. I want to be able to pay my bills. I want to be able to send my child to college. I want to pay off my mortgage so I can afford a new car.” University of Houston Professor of Political Science Jeronimo Cortina told Axios.

Latino News Network publisher Hugo Balta shared with Illinois Public Media that Latinos were able to ignore Trump’s remarks because being able to support their families was more important.

“People are appalled by it and certainly against it, but they’re not necessarily voting based on Donald Trump’s rhetoric, disparaging comments and/or insults towards the Latino community. They vote to put food on the table, to put a roof over their heads and to support their families,” Balta said.

Young people who visited Democratic National Convention in August also told Reckon that the economy was a key issue in their election decisions.

“(The economy) is something that I think young Americans think about in almost every decision they make, and something that I think about all the time,” said 24-year-old Jessica Siles. “It definitely helped me decide which areas I could and couldn’t live in.”

Why is Generation Z becoming so conservative?

Both candidates attempted to meet young people online, using social media in their campaigns in interesting ways that had not been done before. Harris’s use Images of Lime Green Boy Charlie XCX and the borrowing of Chappelle Roan’s Midwest Princess camouflage hat gained popularity among young women and queer people. Harris appeared on Podcast “Call Her Daddy”while Trump chose Theo Von And Joe Roganwhose audience exceeds 14.5 million subscribers – mostly young men.

In the run-up to Election Day, Trump has received endorsements or support from many stars in the manosphere, an online ecosystem of male-oriented content promoting traditional masculinity and anti-feminist views. These included the owner of Twitter/X Constant support of Elon Musk And Rogan’s endorsement on November 4. The Joe Rogan Experience is the most popular streaming podcast with an audience of 80% male, 51% ages 18 to 34, and 21% identifying as Hispanic or Latino. according to Edison Research.

Trends showed Gen Z men are more conservativefeeling that their future is uncertain and their identity is under threat, according to the 2023 State of American Men report by Ekimundoan organization working to promote gender equality by engaging men and boys in partnerships with other genders. The report also found that 53% of men believe that men have it harder than women in America today, and that men ages 18 to 23 have the least amount of optimism about their future and the lowest levels of social support.

The gender gap among Latino voters reflects a dramatic national shift. While young Latino men are increasingly drawn to conservative media and traditional masculinity, Gallup data shows that young women aged 18-29 are moving sharply to the left. Since 2000, the ideological gap between young men and women has widened fivefold, with young women now 15% more likely to identify as liberal than their male counterparts. This polarization extends beyond politics: 71% of Democratic college students say they would not date someone who voted for the opposing presidential candidate, suggesting that these ideological differences could reshape social relations within Latino communities.

This forces many men to seek community in the manosphere, which has helped promote extremist ideology around gender roles into the minds of young people and American politics.

“This subculture seems to give young people a sense of identity and belonging that they can’t find elsewhere,” Margot Peppers, the magazine’s consumer trends editor. Forsyth Factorywhich last year produced a report on the rise of anti-feminism in the United States, told Reckon in January.

Key figures in this movement such as Andrew Tate. promote male dominance and incel rhetoric, which was associated with violent crimes in some men.

The identities of Latino men in the United States are changing, deepening the ideology of masculinity they may have grown up around through consumption of America’s nurtured white supremacy and male dominance.