America Divided on Whether Greater Acceptance of Trans-Identified Individuals is Good for Society

As a fierce debate continues to rage over the participation of trans-identified athletes on sports teams that align with their stated gender identity, a newly released Pew Research Center study shows that Americans, in general, are divided on whether greater acceptance of trans-identified people is good for society.

The study, released Friday, was conducted as a part of a more extensive survey in July 2021. Pew Research Center asked 10,221 adults if “greater social acceptance” of trans-identified individuals is generally good or bad for American society.

Most respondents (61%) were either neutral on the issue or said greater acceptance of trans-identified people would be bad.

Thirty-two percent of those surveyed contended that greater acceptance of the trans-identified community in society would be “bad,” with 14% saying it would be “somewhat bad” and 18% saying it would be “very bad.”

Another 29% asserted that greater social acceptance would be “neither good nor bad.” Thirty-eight percent of respondents said it would be a good thing for society, with 23% saying it would be “very good” and 15% saying it would be “somewhat good.”

While Democrats were more likely than Republicans to support greater acceptance of trans-identified people in society, the study shows that there was no consensus in both parties on the issue.

“Younger adults, Asian Americans, those with a bachelor’s degree or more education and women tend to be more likely to say social acceptance of transgender people is good for society. On the other side, White adults, older people, those without a bachelor’s degree and men tend to be more likely to say greater acceptance is bad for society,” Pew Research Center associate Anna Brown noted.

“Many of these differences remain, or become even more pronounced, within each party. Republicans and GOP leaners in all major demographic groups tend more toward saying greater social acceptance of transgender people has been bad, rather than good, but certain groups are more likely to say this than others.”

She pointed to “a majority of Republicans 50 and older” as the group most likely to express skepticism about “social acceptance of transgender people.”

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Story by Leonardo Blair, Senior Features Reporter, for The Christian Post