Belief in gender binary increases; Majority disagree that young people are being “peer pressured” into being transgender
WASHINGTON (June 8, 2023) — Americans increasingly believe there are only two genders according to a new study released by Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) today. The survey report, “The Politics of Gender, Pronouns and Public Education,” comes amid national political debates over gender identity, battles over public-school curriculums, and recent waves of legislation restricting transgender rights and discussion of LGBTQ topics in schools by state legislatures and school boards.
The survey of more than 5,000 Americans examines their views on gender identity, their relationships with members of the LGBTQ community, and their feelings about what is appropriate to discuss in public schools regarding gender, sexual orientation, and sex education. Differences in views tend to hinge on political affiliation, trust in news sources, and generational membership, with Generation Z a frequent outlier.
“The definition of gender has become a high-profile and controversial topic in the public discourse in recent years, receiving significant conservative media attention,” says Melissa Deckman, Ph.D., CEO of PRRI. “We’re seeing a hardening of position in support of a gender binary nationally, informed largely by partisanship and news consumption. It’s those who feel the most strongly about gender who are driving these conversations.”
The number of Americans who think there are only two gender identities increased from just under 6 in 10 (59%) in 2021 to nearly two-thirds (65%) in 2023. Most Americans do not believe that young people are being peer pressured into being transgender. In addition, few Americans believe that it is never appropriate to teach in public school that some people are transgender. The survey also found that a majority of Americans support comprehensive sex education being taught in public schools, across party lines and religious traditions.
Americans’ views on gender highly polarized; those who believe in a binary feel the strongest
Half of Americans (50%) say they feel strongly that there are only two genders. The percentage who believe there are a range of many possible gender identities decreased from 4 in 10 in 2021 (40%) to 34% in 2023, with 14% of Americans saying they feel strongly about this belief.
Views on gender are highly polarized by political party and the news sources Americans trust. Nine in 10 Republicans (90%) believe there are only two genders, with 8 in 10 (80%) saying they strongly believe that there are only two genders. Meanwhile, less than half of Democrats (44%) believe in a gender binary, with fewer than 3 in 10 (28%) feeling strongly that there are only two genders.
More than 9 in 10 Americans who trust either Fox News (91%) or conservative news sources (92%) believe there only two genders compared with 82% and 96%, respectively, in 2021. Americans who trust mainstream news sources are significantly less likely to believe in a gender binary, with fewer than 6 in 10 (56%) saying there are only two genders, up from just over half (50%) in 2021.
Views also diverge somewhat based on religious affiliation and generation. While belief in a gender binary has increased among all religious groups since 2021, white evangelical Protestants are the most likely to believe in a gender binary, with more than 9 in 10 (92%) saying there are only two genders, up from 86% in 2021. Jewish Americans and religiously unaffiliated Americans are the only groups where a minority (44% and 46%, respectively) believe there are only two genders, with religiously unaffiliated Americans up from just over a third (38%) in 2021.
Generation Z has been an outlier in its belief that there are a range of gender identities. In 2021, it was the only generation where a minority (43%) believed there are only two genders. However, in 2023, that number has increased to nearly 6 in 10 (57%). Since 2021, support for a gender binary has grown among Millennials (51% to 60%), Generation X (65% to 71%), Baby Boomers (62% to 68%), and the Silent Generation (68% to 69%) as well. Across all generations, women are less likely to believe in a gender binary, particularly among Generation Z where half of women (50%) believe there are only two genders compared with nearly two thirds (64%) of Generation Z men.
Less than half of Americans (43%) agree that “young people are being peer pressured into being transgender,” though this belief also diverges on partisan lines with nearly three-quarters of Republicans (74%) and less than one-quarter of Democrats (21%) agreeing.
Republicans, most generations fatigued with talking about gender identity; Gen Z differs
More than 6 in 10 Americans (62%) agree that people spend too much time talking about gender and pronouns, while just over one-third (37%) disagree, with Republicans (86%) more than twice as likely as Democrats (42%) to hold this view.
More than 8 in 10 Americans who trust conservative news outlets (85%) and Fox News (85%) say that people spend too much time discussing their gender and pronouns, compared with just over half (54%) of those who watch mainstream news.
Generation Z is the only generation in which a minority (48%) agree that people spend too much time discussing gender and pronouns, compared with just over half of Millennials (54%) and around 7 in 10 members of Generation X (66%), Baby Boomers (70%), and members of the Silent Generation (73%).
Polarization regarding discussion of gender and LGBTQ identity in public schools; support for comprehensive sex education
Around one-third of Americans (34%) say it’s never appropriate to discuss same-sex romantic relationships in public schools, with Republicans (55%) being more than three times as likely as Democrats (18%) to say this. White evangelical Protestants are the only religious group where a majority (62%) say same-sex romantic relationships are never appropriate to discuss in public schools.
Americans are about equally as likely to support discussions of gender identity in public schools, with 18% saying it is appropriate to teach that some people are transgender beginning in high school, 27% in middle school, 12% in later elementary school and 8% in early elementary school. Around one-third of Americans (34%) feel it’s never appropriate to teach that some people are transgender. Among Democrats, less than 2 in 10 (16%) say it is never appropriate to teach that some people are transgender in public schools; Republicans are much less supportive of gender identity discussions, with nearly 6 in 10 (58%) saying the same.
The level of opposition to teaching that some people are transgender is significantly lower among those who have a friend or family member who is transgender (20%) or an acquaintance who is transgender (22%). Just over 1 in 10 Americans say they have a close relationship with someone who is transgender (11%), while more than 6 in 10 say they don’t know anyone who is transgender (63%).
Americans are more supportive when it comes to teaching sex education in schools. A majority of Americans (53%), including more than 6 in 10 Democrats (61%) and nearly half of Republicans (46%), say it’s appropriate to teach sex education that includes explanations of birth control, condoms, and other forms of contraception starting in middle school. Fewer than 1 in 10 Americans (8%) say sex education is never appropriate to teach in public schools.
The theme of “parents’ rights” in public education is resonating, particularly among Republicans. More than half of Americans (53%) agree that public schools interfere too much with parents’ rights to determine what their children are taught, compared with 46% who disagree. Nearly 8 in 10 Republicans (79%) and 31% of Democrats agree with this idea.
Interestingly, there are minimal differences between the views of parents and non-parents on a number of these topics. Around a third of parents (36%) and non-parents (33%) say it’s never appropriate to teach in public schools that some people are transgender, and just over half of parents (52%) and non-parents (53%) agree that public schools interfere too much with parents’ rights to determine what their children are taught. An equal minority of parents and non-parents (43%) agree that young people are being pressured into being transgender.
The full report is available on PRRI’s website.
Methodology
The survey was designed and conducted by PRRI. The survey was conducted among a representative sample of 5,046 adults (age 18 and up) living in all 50 states in the United States who are part of Ipsos’KnowledgePanel, and an additional 392 who were recruited by Ipsos using opt-in survey panels to increase the sample sizes in smaller states. Interviews were conducted online between March 9 and 23, 2023. The margin of error for the national survey is +/- 1.5 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence, including the design effect for the survey of 1.3. In addition to sampling error, surveys may also be subject to error or bias due to question wording, context, and order effects. The survey was made possible through the generous support of the Arcus Foundation, the Gill Foundation, and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.
About PRRI
PRRI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture, and public policy.
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