Growing trend of hating men seems to backfire as anti-marriage movement leaves single women losing out

Key Points:

• A USA Today op-ed by Ingrid Jacques highlights a growing anti-marriage movement fueled by viral TikTok trends and celebrity critiques of men, warning that women may ultimately lose out by distancing themselves from traditional relationships.
• Jacques points to rising “heteropessimism,” where women feel disappointment and antagonism toward men, exacerbated by media portraying men as either lazy or toxic, as seen in books like “Yesteryear.”
• US Census data shows a decline in marriage and birth rates, with only 47% of American households being married couples in 2025, down from 66% fifty years ago, and fewer families having children under 18.
• The cultural shift away from marriage is linked to liberal ideology, with liberal women reporting lower life satisfaction compared to conservative and moderate women, and social media trends like “divorce glow ups” celebrating singlehood.
• Jacques, citing author Louise Perry, argues that returning to marriage rather than abandoning men is crucial for bridging the growing divide between the sexes and improving women's well-being.