The radical left has seemed hellbent, and with a particular ferocity lately, on targeting minors with transgender ideology. This is despite the fact that such children cannot legally consent to a process that not only involves hormone therapy and puberty blockers, along with the health effects with it, but also procedures that may involve genital mutilation and sterilization. Such children who may be experiencing gender dysphoria and may think they're transgender often grow out of it. Many may sadly even be influenced by the political agenda of their parents or teachers, or some other adult in their lives. It's not exactly surprising that the left feels empowered to do so, given that President Joe Biden and his administration as a whole has made targeting these vulnerable children a priority. They even keep doubling down.
But, are they in line with what the American people say?
As it turns out, the polls are pretty consistent and clear that the radical left, for how vocal and aggressive they may be, is not on the side of the American people who see right through this ploy.
The recently released Harvard CAPS/Harris poll has gotten considerable attention for what it means for the 2024 Republican presidential primary, and what respondents think about the recent charges just recently brought against former and potentially future President Donald Trump. The poll also asked what respondents think about transgender issues.
The results were overwhelmingly in favor of reality, in that strong majorities among all political ideologies, believe that "surgery to change gender and puberty blockers should... only be allowed for people over 18 in your state." Seventy-eight percent overall answered as much, including 89 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of Democrats, and 77 percent of Independents/Others.
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The numbers were almost identical for a similar question, in that 77 percent of respondents say they oppose "a law in your state that would allow gender changing surgery and puberty blockers for minors without parental permission." This includes 87 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of Democrats, and 78 percent of Independents/Others.
Harvard/Harris Poll:
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) June 16, 2023
— 78% of Americans say puberty blockers and gender surgery should only be allowed for those over 18
— 79% oppose the law in their state that would allow gender changing surgery and puberty blockers for minors without parental permission pic.twitter.com/lT8kVE2OQL
As an interesting side note, the poll also found strong support, among all political ideologies, for parents rights in another question. Overall, 82 percent of respondents said they would favor legislation in their state that "would strengthen parental rights" over their children. That includes 91 percent of Republicans, 76 percent of Democrats, and 80 percent of Independents/Others.
That poll was conducted June 14-15 with 2,090 registered voters.
Another recent poll, the UMass-Amherst/WCVB poll asked if respondents believed "Being a man or a woman is something that is permanent and cannot be changed," or "Being a man or a woman is something that can be changed and is largely left up to the individual. Sixty percent chose the former.
The poll was conducted May 31-June 8 with 1,133 people and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent.
.@UMassPoll: 60% of Americans say that being a man or a woman is something that is permanent and can't be changed, including:
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) June 19, 2023
— 90% of Republicans
— 64% of Independents
— 36% of Dems
— 65% (no college)
— 38% (postgraduate)
— 49% (18-29)
— 60% (30-54)https://t.co/CiOHzpoFxo pic.twitter.com/nvcoz8GN0F
These are just a few recent examples.
On Sunday, Daily Mail released the findings of their poll conducted with J.L. Partners. Among the 1,000 adults surveyed, every demographic except for Democrats, expressed that "the promotion of trans/gender ideology in America" has "gone too far." This included 59 percent of overall respondents. The poll's write-up highlighted how young Americans think so as well, including 51 percent of those ages 18-29.
As the poll's write-up highlighted:
The results suggest that Americans are relatively open to non-traditional lifestyles, but are increasingly concerned by the growing prominence of trans ideas in the nation's cultural life.
...
In our survey, 59 percent of voters said the promotion of trans ideology had gone too far in America, while 16 percent said it had not gone far enough.
This included majorities in every age group, but interestingly also 51 percent of adults aged 18-29 — a cohort that is often seen as more supportive of new wave gender ideas.
Results were partisan. An overwhelming 93 percent of Republicans said trans ideas were being too heavily promoted, compared to just a quarter of Democrats.
Meanwhile, respondents were split on whether Target and other retailers should display LGBT-themed products for Pride month prominently in their stores.
Some 38 percent of people were opposed to such displays, while 37 percent supported them.
'There is a hidden consensus in America – between young and old, black and white, men and women: that trans and gender ideology has gone too far' James Johnson, the founder of J.L. Partners who conducted the DailyMail.com poll said.
'Rather than the polarized country that often gets talked about, large margins feel the promotion of these issues has gone too far. Fully half of 18-29 year olds agree.'
Next time you see coverage of trans issues in the classroom, or on college campuses, do not assume Generation Z and millennials are all in support. Like the rest of the country, they appear to instead be quietly uncomfortable with the most radical voices on these issues."
When it comes to Democrats, 25 percent said it had "gone too far," while 32 percent each said it had "not gone far enough" or "about right."
Last week, as Madeline covered, Gallup released poll findings showing that an increasing amount of Americans believe that transgender athletes "should only be allowed to play on sports teams that match their birth gender," with 69 percent saying as much. An increasing amount also believe it is morally wrong to change one's gender, with 55 percent saying so.
That poll was conducted May 1-24 with 1,011 adults and a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
GALLUP POLL:
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) June 12, 2023
— 69% of Americans say transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete on sports teams that match their birth gender, including plularity of Democrats (+7 from 2021)
— 55% Say Changing One’s Gender Is Morally Wrong (+4 from 2021)https://t.co/HWnUjR3oIC pic.twitter.com/sOoeCSfPOP
As Matt covered last month, a poll from The Washington Post/KFF found that more than 60 percent of adults believe that biological boys and men should not be able to play in girls' and women's sports, and that 68 percent oppose puberty blockers for children ages 10-14 who may think they are transgender, while 58 percent oppose hormonal treatment for those teens ages 15-17.
That poll was conducted November 10-December 1, 2022 with 1,338 adults, including "515 who identify as trans."
New Washington Post poll shows solid majorities oppose puberty blockers and hormone treatments for teenagers.
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) May 5, 2023
This might be a surprise if your window into this debate has been progressive media and Twitter. But people in real life have concerns. https://t.co/BnwAitvOhb pic.twitter.com/MES44MRxw5
If anything, the efforts from the radical left may be backfiring as people wake up to see the harms that such indoctrination imposes on children and on the nation's overall moral fiber.
The few who remain in favor of pushing irreversible procedures on minor children allow America to be an "outlier" on the international level, as the Wall Street Journal noted earlier on Monday with the headline of "U.S. Becomes Transgender-Care Outlier as More in Europe Urge Caution."
