Antifeminist Sentiments and Marital Desire among Young Men: Evidence from South Korea

Abstract

Emerging research on antifeminism documents widespread antagonism among young men toward women and marriage. However, no quantitative study has explicitly investigated the connection between men’s antifeminist ideals and marital desire. Using a nationally representative sample of young Korean men (N = 1,061), this study examines the latent variables of men’s antifeminist sentiments and their association with marital desire. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two dimensions of men’s antifeminist ideals: support for male superiority (e.g., men deserve greater power in society than women) and perceived male victimhood (e.g., male discrimination due to feminism). Support for male superiority predicted more positive attitudes towards marriage. On the contrary, male victimhood predicted substantially less favorable attitudes toward marriage and marital intention. Findings emphasize the multidimensionality of antifeminist sentiments and suggest a new avenue for understanding young men’s marital disinterest in a post-industrial context, that is, perceived male victimhood due to feminism.