There is a consensus in research that young generations hold more progressive values than older generations, especially about cultural issues such as gender equality. Contrasting this consensus, studies find that young men recently develop increasingly conservative attitudes toward certain gender equality measures. Addressing this paradox, we argue that increasing labor market competition between young men and women explains young men’s recently more conservative attitudes toward gender equality. To test this argument, we investigate young men’s attitudes toward different aspects of gender equality over time. Specifically, analyzing cross-sectional and longitudinal survey data from several Western democracies since the 1990s, we develop and test several implications of our argument. Our findings corroborate our theoretical argument, suggesting that progressive generational value change cannot be taken for granted, and despite their general progressiveness, young generations are not exempt from conservative reactions to labor market competition.