This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.

Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democrats-want-reach-young-male-voters-how-get-them-is-up-debate-2025-10-06/
Reports like these have been an almost weekly occurrence all year. To state the obvious that none of these articles include: The Democratic Party and liberals engage in bulverism and bulverism alienates people. But is the problem purely liberals alienating young men or are conservatives also successfully courting them?
Probably more the former. Team Red isn't offering that much, but at least they aren't broadcasting their disdain at every opportunity.
Disclaimer: I'm middle-aged and not terribly in contact with the yutes. But as a straight white male with a job, I occasionally wonder what exactly Team Blue could ever do to entice me to vote for them in a national election (short of entirely abandoning 75%+ of their policies).
Get a biological woman to go on a date with me with a positive, collaborative attitude and not talk about Gaza.
In any college-educated/mostly Blue Tribe milieu, that last requirement is going to be a killer. A genuine Red Tribe setting (i.e. some churches) might be okay.
Why is it considered mandatory to moralize about a cause they only found out about last week on a date? I'm not interested in talking to brainworms. Or in being verbally bludgeoned with emotionally-loaded words.
I don't want to hear about Jesus either.
It's considered mandatory, because the woke worldview is totalizing and impenetrable. That is, it is always relevant to every single aspect of life (i.e. "everything is political," "the personal is political"), and it's hardened against traditional, conservative forms of modification for better conforming to truth and facts such as logic and evidence. Whether you learned of this yesterday or 2 decades ago, the fundamental Correctness of this belief doesn't change, nor does your responsibility as a member of someone on the Right Side of History to immanentize the eschaton by preaching to your significant other.
After that, it's basic market forces; the types of women you are talking about are high in demand, low in supply, so they get to set the terms of these relationships. At least, unless you fit into a category that's even higher in demand/lower in supply.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link