Vogue op-ed stirs debate after calling boyfriends ‘embarrassing’ and saying dating now feels Republican
Writer notes women increasingly hide relationships to maintain single image on social media
November 2, 2025 8:00am ESTBeing in love is out, according to a new British Vogue opinion piece that calls having a boyfriend "embarrassing" — with some even joking that having a boyfriend "feels Republican."
The longtime fashion magazine explored how younger people — especially women — are distancing themselves from traditional, heteronormative relationships. Many are even denying or downplaying their relationships online to maintain a certain "single" image.
"It feels like the result of women wanting to straddle two worlds: one where they can receive the social benefits of having a partner, but also not appear so boyfriend-obsessed that they come across as quite culturally loser-ish," wrote Vogue UK opinion writer Chanté Joseph in the piece titled, "Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?"
The op-ed argues that being single has become a modern status symbol — while being in a relationship is now branded as outdated, or even politically uncool.
Joseph observed that online, women increasingly choose not to post about their partners, — opting instead for vague snapshots, like a boyfriend’s hand or a champagne toast — to suggest romance without labeling it.
"On the ‘Delusional Diaries’ podcast, fronted by two New York–based influencers, Halley and Jaz, they discuss whether having a boyfriend is ‘lame’ now," Joseph wrote.
One of the top comments captured the shift: "‘Why does having a boyfriend feel Republican?’"
Joseph added that even women who are in relationships now tend to distance themselves from the label, since it’s "fundamentally uncool to be a boyfriend-girl."
Earlier this year, The Atlantic writer Faith Hill made a similar observation, telling CNN’s "The Assignment with Audie Cornish" that men’s political shift to the right has impacted the dating scene.
"I think, for a lot of women in particular, it can just sort of feel like, ‘This is not a time where I trust men — I feel respected by men. I don't necessarily want to go out and meet strangers who are men,’" Hill said.
The trend reflects a broader cultural shift where even personal choices like dating and relationships are considered political or ideological statements.
An April 2024 Pew Research Center studyfound that relationship status and political ideology were linked. Married men and women were found to be more likely to lean Republican than their unmarried peers. Never married women were also found to be nearly three times as likely to associate with the Democratic Party.
Madison is a production assistant for Fox News Digital on the Flash team.
