A 2022 study conducted by researchers at UCLA’s Williams Institute claimed that 0.5 percent of all American adults, 1.3 million people, and about 300,000 youth 13 to 17 years old identify as transgender, which Townhall covered. Despite this, pro-transgender advocates claim time and time again that social contagion and gender ideology curriculum do not play a part in these numbers.
However, a new poll published this week by the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the LA Times found that nearly half of Americans believe that young people are being influenced by culture to identify as LGBTQ+.
Forty-eight percent of U.S. adults overall agreed with, “Those aged 18 to 29 are influenced by current popular culture to identify with an LGBTQ+ identity even if it’s not their true identity.”
Sixty-six percent of U.S. adults overall agreed with, “Those aged 18 to 29 are more likely to openly identify as LGBTQ+ because that is more accepted by society today.”
One question asked, “In your opinion, why do some people feel their gender does not match the sex they’re assigned at birth?”
Forty-six percent of adults said that transgenders are “born that way.” However, 29 percent said “They are influenced by society” and 24 percent said “It is a lifestyle choice.”
Forty percent of respondents said that “political and media attention” that is “focused on transgender and nonbinary people” has been a “bad thing for society.”
The LA Times’ write up-noted that Americans show more support for gays and lesbians than transgender people (via NORC.org):
Our poll finds that acceptance of people who identify as gay and lesbian has grown significantly since 1985, and strong majorities today approve of them living their lives as they wish. Notably, while 67 percent believed that sexual relations between adults of the same sex were always wrong in 1985, 64 percent of adults today do not see it as an issue at all.
However, while many are also supportive of transgender and nonbinary people, these groups still face obstacles to acceptance in areas like politics, sports, medical care, and even home life. Thirty-one percent of U.S. adults disapprove of transgender and nonbinary adults living their lives as they wish, compared to 19 percent and 21 percent who feel the same about gay and lesbian or bisexual adults, respectively. And while the share of those who would be less likely to vote for a gay or lesbian Congressional candidate has dropped from 47 percent in 1985 to 19 percent, 33 percent today would be less likely to vote for a candidate they heard was transgender or nonbinary.