According to Bill Maher, women are becoming more liberal and men are becoming more conservative, as he mentioned on Friday during the Overtime segment of “Real Time.” Citing surveys that indicate the same, Maher remarked, “Well, duh,” before handing the microphone to guest Beto O’Rourke, who provided an example to clarify the increasing division.
I heard this and posed the question to my 15-year-old daughter Molly,” O’Rourke mentioned. “Immediately, she responded, ‘Women are gaining too much power and men don’t like that,’ and I pondered on it.”
The Texan continued, “I reflected on the abortion ruling in Texas, where it’s now harder to get an abortion than anywhere else. Certain counties are even prohibiting women from traveling on their roads to leave the state and obtain an abortion in New Mexico or another place where it’s legal. Also, the IVF ruling in Alabama is not about life but about control and power.”
O’Rourke, who ran for governor in Texas in 2022, expressed optimism about the direction things are heading.
“And I believe that helps to explain some of the division we see right now. It also gives me hope that women in Texas and across the country, who understand this and are experiencing it more than anyone else, will help lead the resurgence against… so, Texas should be prepared,” O’Rourke concluded, receiving applause.
Media reporter Kara Swisher, another guest on the Overtime segment, interjected and mentioned that she is raising three boys who are not conservative thinkers, and it’s “not because I raised them that way.”
Swisher added, “They can do whatever they want. But, it’s an intriguing situation because we talked about this concept and I think what they want to do is not be jerks, essentially, they’re trying to avoid that and it’s really challenging. Everyone has to define themselves, as you were mentioning earlier. You always have to label yourself.”
Young people, Swisher added, are not interested in labeling themselves, something that she believes older generations should think about. Co-guest and former Trump administration spokesperson Sarah Isgur then shifted the conversation to a broader “crisis of young men.”
“The education gap plays a big role in driving the political gap, and that education gap is also aligning along gender lines,” Isgur remarked. “Women are now outperforming men in college graduation rates. They’re earning law degrees and graduate degrees at a much higher rate. We’re leaving men behind.”
The discussion about the college graduation gap began in earnest in 2021. A Pew Research Center study revealed that women were enrolling in and completing college at a higher rate than men and that the majority of adults over 25 do not have a four-year degree at all.
Watch the exchange in the video above, from the Overtime segment on Friday’s episode of “Real Time With Bill Maher.”
