The typical 12th-grade girl is now less likely to want to be married one day than the typical boy of the same age.
According to a new survey from Pew Research released on Friday, American high schoolers are “less likely now than in the past to say they want to get married someday.”
That sorrowful trend is driven almost entirely by girls.
In 1993, 76 percent of boys said they are “most likely to choose to get married in the long run.”
That number fell slightly to 74 percent by 2023.
In 1993, girls were more likely to “choose to get married in the long run” than boys, with 83 percent answering the question affirmatively.
Only 61 percent say the same in 2023, meaning that boys are noticeably more favorable toward the prospect of marriage than girls.
“The share of boys saying this is virtually unchanged over the 30-year period. But the share among girls dropped by 22 percentage points,” Pew Research summarized.
“There are no statistically significant gender gaps on the other questions.”
Brad Wilcox, a fellow at the Institution for Family Studies, called the trend “disastrous” and lamented the “anti-nuptial turn among young women” and girls.
Anti-nuptial turn among young women & adolescent girls is disastrous.
New @pewresearch:
HS girls’ interest in marriage drops 20+ percentage pts in last 30 years.👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/qnvOXWvThs
— Brad Wilcox (@BradWilcoxIFS) November 15, 2025
Many social media commenters joined in the lament, noting that the negative effects of feminism on Western civilization are immense.
“Feminist mind virus growing stronger and stronger,” one user said.
“Feminism seems to be going well for society,” another added.
David Schrock, a pastor at Occoquan Bible Church in Virginia, contended that churches and fellow pastors should confront the phenomenon.
“Nothing to see here. The generational disinterest in marriage for young women is perfectly well and good,” he wrote.
Nothing to see here. The generational disinterest in marriage for young women is perfectly well and good.
For how dare pastors consider the radicalization of young women.
Right @davemitz @tomascol @GundenGraham? https://t.co/TASf9sJMR5
— David Schrock🌲 (@DavidSchrock) November 15, 2025
“For how dare pastors consider the radicalization of young women,” he asked rhetorically.
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