Anti-Marriage Movement Driven by Social Media Trends May Harm Women’s Long-Term Prospects, Columnist Warns

A wave of cultural hostility toward marriage and men is gaining momentum through social media platforms and high-profile figures who openly criticize traditional relationships, according to USA Today columnist Ingrid Jacques. The trend, which she describes as “heteropessimism,” has manifested in viral TikTok challenges and bestselling novels that portray men in overwhelmingly negative terms, potentially widening the gender divide.

Jacques cited research demonstrating that married women report greater happiness, longer lifespans, and higher earnings compared to their unmarried peers. She expressed concern that contemporary media consumed by young women increasingly presents traditional relationships as undesirable or harmful, pointing to bestselling fiction that reduces male characters to lazy stereotypes or toxic patriarchs.

The shift aligns with documented declines in U.S. marriage rates, with Census Bureau data from December 2024 showing that 47 percent of American households consist of married couples, down from nearly 66 percent five decades ago. Only 37 percent of married households now include children under 18, compared to 54 percent in 1975.

Jacques connected the anti-marriage sentiment to political ideology, noting that left-leaning Americans disproportionately reject traditional family structures. A 2024 American Family Survey found that only 12 percent of liberal women aged 18 to 40 reported being completely satisfied with their lives, compared to 37 percent of conservative women and 28 percent of moderate women in the same age group.

The columnist highlighted the “divorce glow-up” phenomenon on TikTok, where women share before-and-after photos depicting themselves as happier and more radiant after ending marriages. She also referenced public figures including author Elizabeth Gilbert and model Emily Ratajkowski who have celebrated singlehood or post-divorce life.

Jacques argued that young women wounded by casual dating culture and lacking genuine cross-gender friendships have been alienated from marriage as a solution. Rather than rejecting men entirely, she concluded, women and men must work toward reconciliation, as abandoning marriage will not bridge the cultural divide.