Despite insistence from transgender activists that people can choose their sex, 60 percent of Americans believe sex is determined by biology, a new Pew Research poll shows.
Not only are Americans rejecting radical gender ideology, but the number of Americans who believe in the biological reality of sex has increased every year. Last year, 56 percent of Americans believed sex is determined by biology, up from 54 percent in 2017. The growing share of Americans who disagree with gender ideology shows that indoctrination attempts by activists and Democrats are largely failing.
Half or more of all age groups agree that sex is determined by biology, although young adults are slightly more likely to embrace radical gender ideology. Notably, among adults 30 and younger who say people can choose their sex, 33 percent say social media has “contributed to this view at least a fair amount.”
But the difference in beliefs between Republicans and Democrats is stark. Eighty-six percent of Republicans and people who lean toward the GOP say sex is determined by biology. Only 38 percent of Democrats believe in biological reality. Sixty-one percent instead believe that “whether a person is a man or a woman can be different from their sex at birth.”
Overall, a solid majority (57 percent) say transgender people face a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of discrimination. However, “even among those who see at least some discrimination against trans people, a majority (54 percent) say society has either gone too far in accepting trans people or been about right; 44 percent say society hasn’t gone far enough,” the survey report revealed.
While 64 percent of United States adults say they would favor laws to protect transgender people from “discrimination in jobs, housing, and public spaces, such as restaurants and stores,” large numbers of Americans also favor GOP-style legislation protecting women and girls’ spaces. Roughly 58 percent of Americans favor laws that would require transgender athletes to play on teams that match their biological reality. Forty-six percent approve of making it illegal for healthcare professionals to give minors sex-change treatments.
Americans are almost evenly split about education-related proposals, according to Pew Research. Forty-one percent of Americans say they would support making it illegal for public school districts to teach about “gender identity” in elementary schools, compared to 38 percent who oppose. Thirty-seven percent approve and 36 percent oppose the idea of investigating parents for child abuse if a minor is given sex-change treatments. Pew noted that all of the opinions on policy proposals were “deeply divided by party.”
As far as identification, 55 percent of Americans say online profiles should not include other options beside “male” and “female” for “people who don’t identify as either.” Forty-four percent disagree. Sixty percent of Americans also do not think government documents, like passports and driver’s licenses, should have other options besides “male and female.” Thirty-eight percent disagree.
When it comes to new names and pronouns, Americans are more supportive of calling a transgender person by their desired name than their “preferred pronouns.” Forty-seven percent say it is “extremely or very important” to call someone their desired name. Thirty percent say it is “a little or not at all important” or that it “shouldn’t be done.”
On the question of using “preferred pronouns,” 26 percent say it is “a little or not at all important” to abide by, and 18 percent say it “should not be done.” Thirty-four percent say agreeing to use someone’s “preferred pronouns” is extremely or very important, and 21 percent say it is “somewhat important.”
Ultimately, 43 percent of U.S. adults expressed “discomfort with the pace of change around issues of gender identity,” and say views on the issue are “changing too quickly.” Twenty-six percent say things are not changing fast enough, while 28 percent say the pace is “about right.” The survey estimated that 1.6 percent of U.S. adults believe they are transgender or nonbinary, though the share is higher among adults under 30.
Pew Research surveyed 10,188 United States adults May 16-22, 2022. The margin of sampling error is ± 1.6 percent.