Zohran Mamdani Calls Out 'Cringe Men' and Says Women Aren't Responsible for the Male Loneliness Crisis

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has waded into the cultural conversation around masculinity and relationships, telling women who find their boyfriends embarrassing to 'probably get a new boyfriend' whilst firmly rejecting the notion that women bear responsibility for solving the so-called male loneliness epidemic.

Appearing on Liz Plank's 'Boy Problems' podcast on Tuesday, the 34-year-old progressive politician responded to a recent Vogue article examining whether straight women now feel embarrassed to have boyfriends. Plank explained that women interviewed for the piece suggested having a boyfriend felt 'almost Republican', with fears their partners might publicly humiliate them.

Who Is Zohran Mamdani?

The Queens assemblyman made history last week when he won election as New York City's first Muslim and South Asian mayor. The son of Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist ran on an affordability platform including free buses, universal childcare and a rent freeze.

His campaign leveraged social media virality and grassroots organising, raising more than £6.2 million from approximately 18,000 donors whilst mobilising tens of thousands of unpaid volunteers to defeat former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the primary.

The Male Loneliness Epidemic

Plank also asked Mamdani about the 'male loneliness crisis', noting that many female listeners feel the discourse unfairly frames women as responsible for solving men's isolation. Statistics suggest the issue is significant. One in five men report having no close friends compared to 12 per cent of women, according to the American Institute of Boys and Men. A 2025 Gallup poll found 25 per cent of American men under 35 feel lonely daily.

Former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared loneliness a national epidemic in 2023, warning it increases risks of depression, anxiety, heart disease and premature death. Research shows socially isolated men have a 50 per cent higher mortality rate than socially integrated men.

However, experts caution that framing the issue as exclusively male may be misleading. A Pew Research Centre survey found 16 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women report feeling lonely most of the time, suggesting isolation affects all genders relatively equally, though men may experience it differently due to traditional masculine norms discouraging emotional vulnerability.

'Not Women's Responsibility'

Mamdani firmly rejected placing the burden on women. 'I think, first of all, it is absolutely not women's responsibility to resolve this crisis', he said. 'I think that is a crisis that's born out of more systemic forces, and a lot of them have to do with just this greater sense of alienation in today's world as things are becoming more and more expensive for people to afford, and the connections between people are fraying'.

The mayor-elect suggested that contemporary economic pressures and rising living costs contribute to social isolation by making it harder for people to participate in community activities. Reflecting on his campaign, Mamdani noted many New Yorkers formed friendships simply through canvassing together.

As mayor, he said he hopes to create more 'third spaces', places where people can spend time without spending money. Such spaces, he argued, are vital for fostering community, reducing loneliness and enabling people to connect meaningfully.