The poll also shows heavy support for transgender youth care, opposition to the military ban, and opposition to the prosecution of teachers affirming trans youth.
This post made me tear up. I’ve felt so alone where I’m at and knowing the majority of the general public is with me rather than against me gives me more courage to get through each day. Thank you for sharing these numbers!
Thanks to Erin for posting something positive about trans support. I’d just finished three articles with negative news for us, and though I live in a liberal state and community, it’s starting to get to me. But Gene, we are not going to disappear.
I mean, this is good and all, but if the last election proved one thing, it's that the majority of Americans are either anti-human rights (not just trans rights) or they don't care to any significant degree. Don't get me wrong - it's encouraging, but this rotten country has a long way to go.
What I would hope comes out of this is that some Democrats may be less inclined to throw trans people under the bus. We'll see.
During the election, there were several polls that said that too much time was being spent talking about transgender people. And I believe that the results of those polls were accurate. I think that people are sick of hearing about us. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean what is happening to us is a deal breaker for them.
When they said that too much time was being spent talking about us, I think what they meant is that other issues were a higher priority for them. The economy comes to mind. And they voted irrespective of what was being said about us rather than explicitly voting FOR it.
It's a form of cognitive dissonance, and I do still get a lot of hope from the fact that the general public supports us. It makes me feel reasonably safe going out in public, and like a bystander would be more likely to intervene if I were assaulted or harassed than they would be to join in with my assailant. But I don't know if this disapproval will translate to different choices come the midterms, if we even still have elections by then.
I agree that the problem with the poll as a source of hope is that while it is likely a pretty accurate reflection of people's views, it doesn't measure how important the issue is to them. People's votes are usually driven by immediate concerns rather than general ethical principles.
Even so, regarding the idea of "sick of hearing about us" and just in case you'd be interested, a year ago, in response to a comment somewhere (not here, to be sure) that LGBTQ+ is being "forced down our throats," I wrote this:
"I expect I'm wasting my breath, but:
"'[T]he majority of us are getting tired of it.' Fine. Good. Just dump the bigoted laws, stop interfering with people's ability to live as who they are, stop interfering with medical care, stop trying to force trans people to live lives of secrecy as if they didn't exist, stop demeaning their humanity and denying their human rights, stop calling them 'filth' and 'abominations,' in short just drop the whole damn thing and allow trans folks the same dignity, rights, and respect you would expect for yourself, and you'll hardly ever have to hear about it again. Otherwise, well, otherwise."
Okay, I'm sorry. Maybe I'm just in a trash mood, but, what???
- 37% of respondents believe that doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors should lose their licenses---that's not even counting the 14% of respondents who were "not sure" about one of the most basic tenets of trans rights.
- Knowing a transgender person made Republicans MORE likely to believe that the government should ban gender-affirming care for youth.
- A full quarter of respondents SUPPORT the government's removal of references to transgender people.
It is irresponsible to report on this with a positive spin. Sure, it's not as bad as it could be. But these numbers are still intensely alarming. If the best we can get is that the public is "divided" about letting us exist among them, then we lack the general support that we so desparately need. How many of the people who polled in support of trans rights would actually put their own safety and security at risk to help a trans person in need?
These numbers tell us that, yes, we have many allies. But the bigots who hate us are emboldened enough to put us in serious danger, and everyone in between will turn a blind eye as it happens.
I'd bet money Republicans count seeing a trans person on TV as "knowing" a trans person. I'm with you in not seeing these poll results as great. Especially since all these people who support us are apparently doing NOTHING about it.
This stands up to the way U.S. citizens were trending for the most part before someone gave Trump and Musk a microphone. Yes, there were pockets of ignorance, hate, and bigotry before they fanned the fires and politicized fear and hate. But if you look at the popularity of inclusive books and films; the normalizing of the Pride Celebrations or Learning to Read with a Drag Queen into Public culture; and how natural it is to assume the schools and teachers are the safe places to share one's pronouns with (that change takes time) is telling. Trump won by small margins, and not all of those voters are anti-Trans, some jumped on his wagon for other mistaken reasons, and some are haters. But it can Feel like the Whole World when this amount of hateful focus is aimed at one. And it doesn't change the fact that there is danger. But there is also proof that there are many people standing together against the hate- more than it felt like before seeing the numbers. Math is Magic..
In 2024 Dems tried just avoided "trans issues" and let the GOP do all the talking. Big mistake.
I think we need politicians to take a stance along the lines of they support "inclusivity and fairness", and under the heading of fairness talk their support of rules regarding length of time on hormone therapy and age started, talk about their support for size limits that apply across the board to cis and trans alike.
Nevermind that some of this is already factored into the rules of sports organizations, a politician can make is sound like some new thing and a lot of people would be like, oh okay, that makes sense.
Thank you Erin for the excellent reporting! I would like to think these poll data would start to mollify the intense antagonism of the GOP towards trans people. Alas, it probably won’t. Hate and resentment are very strong emotions, and very hard to dislodge from people.
It’s because the MAGA types are addicted to a cult. Getting them out is no harder and no easier than getting off of tobacco, alcohol or heroin. The biggest difference is that they are addicted to “reward” chemicals in their brains — the same ones actually that are secreted for physical fantasies stimulated by hunger, urination urgency or lack of sex. What “feels good” for the MAGA is to be told that whatever problem is making them feel hopeless in their lives can be made to go away simply by becoming a follower of Donald Trump. His utterings and his propaganda machine broadcast stories of his many “successes.” Listening to them makes the typical MAGAt feel better — and leads to the addiction.
All, Heather Cox Richardson spilled the beans on the details of the ‘Dark Maga movement that we’re dealing with and it was bold and brave, and we need to share it everywhere. I will post it below as well as a video from five months ago that lays it out.
We are absolutely supporting you and we are absolutely supporting our kids and freedoms for everybody but we’re at a critical juncture. Erin, please help share this… everyone please help. This has got to be forced into the mainstream news and this is the thing we align around. The Trans community is being hit, as well as well immigrants, because they’re easy to pick on and go after. Truth is now out there, and their actions make gaslighting this impossible.
Great, cis folks support us in polls... now if they would only support us 𝘢𝘵 the polls, we'd be getting somewhere useful.
We are, we are!
Thank you!!
Thanks Erin! This is really uplifting. Maybe Democrats will stop helping them to persecute us!
This post made me tear up. I’ve felt so alone where I’m at and knowing the majority of the general public is with me rather than against me gives me more courage to get through each day. Thank you for sharing these numbers!
Thanks to Erin for posting something positive about trans support. I’d just finished three articles with negative news for us, and though I live in a liberal state and community, it’s starting to get to me. But Gene, we are not going to disappear.
I mean, this is good and all, but if the last election proved one thing, it's that the majority of Americans are either anti-human rights (not just trans rights) or they don't care to any significant degree. Don't get me wrong - it's encouraging, but this rotten country has a long way to go.
What I would hope comes out of this is that some Democrats may be less inclined to throw trans people under the bus. We'll see.
During the election, there were several polls that said that too much time was being spent talking about transgender people. And I believe that the results of those polls were accurate. I think that people are sick of hearing about us. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean what is happening to us is a deal breaker for them.
When they said that too much time was being spent talking about us, I think what they meant is that other issues were a higher priority for them. The economy comes to mind. And they voted irrespective of what was being said about us rather than explicitly voting FOR it.
It's a form of cognitive dissonance, and I do still get a lot of hope from the fact that the general public supports us. It makes me feel reasonably safe going out in public, and like a bystander would be more likely to intervene if I were assaulted or harassed than they would be to join in with my assailant. But I don't know if this disapproval will translate to different choices come the midterms, if we even still have elections by then.
I agree that the problem with the poll as a source of hope is that while it is likely a pretty accurate reflection of people's views, it doesn't measure how important the issue is to them. People's votes are usually driven by immediate concerns rather than general ethical principles.
Even so, regarding the idea of "sick of hearing about us" and just in case you'd be interested, a year ago, in response to a comment somewhere (not here, to be sure) that LGBTQ+ is being "forced down our throats," I wrote this:
"I expect I'm wasting my breath, but:
"'[T]he majority of us are getting tired of it.' Fine. Good. Just dump the bigoted laws, stop interfering with people's ability to live as who they are, stop interfering with medical care, stop trying to force trans people to live lives of secrecy as if they didn't exist, stop demeaning their humanity and denying their human rights, stop calling them 'filth' and 'abominations,' in short just drop the whole damn thing and allow trans folks the same dignity, rights, and respect you would expect for yourself, and you'll hardly ever have to hear about it again. Otherwise, well, otherwise."
THIS!!!!
Okay, I'm sorry. Maybe I'm just in a trash mood, but, what???
- 37% of respondents believe that doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors should lose their licenses---that's not even counting the 14% of respondents who were "not sure" about one of the most basic tenets of trans rights.
- Knowing a transgender person made Republicans MORE likely to believe that the government should ban gender-affirming care for youth.
- A full quarter of respondents SUPPORT the government's removal of references to transgender people.
It is irresponsible to report on this with a positive spin. Sure, it's not as bad as it could be. But these numbers are still intensely alarming. If the best we can get is that the public is "divided" about letting us exist among them, then we lack the general support that we so desparately need. How many of the people who polled in support of trans rights would actually put their own safety and security at risk to help a trans person in need?
These numbers tell us that, yes, we have many allies. But the bigots who hate us are emboldened enough to put us in serious danger, and everyone in between will turn a blind eye as it happens.
I'd bet money Republicans count seeing a trans person on TV as "knowing" a trans person. I'm with you in not seeing these poll results as great. Especially since all these people who support us are apparently doing NOTHING about it.
How long before Trump sues the posllsters?
This stands up to the way U.S. citizens were trending for the most part before someone gave Trump and Musk a microphone. Yes, there were pockets of ignorance, hate, and bigotry before they fanned the fires and politicized fear and hate. But if you look at the popularity of inclusive books and films; the normalizing of the Pride Celebrations or Learning to Read with a Drag Queen into Public culture; and how natural it is to assume the schools and teachers are the safe places to share one's pronouns with (that change takes time) is telling. Trump won by small margins, and not all of those voters are anti-Trans, some jumped on his wagon for other mistaken reasons, and some are haters. But it can Feel like the Whole World when this amount of hateful focus is aimed at one. And it doesn't change the fact that there is danger. But there is also proof that there are many people standing together against the hate- more than it felt like before seeing the numbers. Math is Magic..
As usual, it's the public, and not the Democrats, that are showing not only push back, but a willingness to stand up to cruelty.
I really wish we could get them aboard with the sports issue as well. The data so clearly supports us still being allowed in sports.
In 2024 Dems tried just avoided "trans issues" and let the GOP do all the talking. Big mistake.
I think we need politicians to take a stance along the lines of they support "inclusivity and fairness", and under the heading of fairness talk their support of rules regarding length of time on hormone therapy and age started, talk about their support for size limits that apply across the board to cis and trans alike.
Nevermind that some of this is already factored into the rules of sports organizations, a politician can make is sound like some new thing and a lot of people would be like, oh okay, that makes sense.
Thank you Erin for the excellent reporting! I would like to think these poll data would start to mollify the intense antagonism of the GOP towards trans people. Alas, it probably won’t. Hate and resentment are very strong emotions, and very hard to dislodge from people.
It’s because the MAGA types are addicted to a cult. Getting them out is no harder and no easier than getting off of tobacco, alcohol or heroin. The biggest difference is that they are addicted to “reward” chemicals in their brains — the same ones actually that are secreted for physical fantasies stimulated by hunger, urination urgency or lack of sex. What “feels good” for the MAGA is to be told that whatever problem is making them feel hopeless in their lives can be made to go away simply by becoming a follower of Donald Trump. His utterings and his propaganda machine broadcast stories of his many “successes.” Listening to them makes the typical MAGAt feel better — and leads to the addiction.
Fantastic work Erin. Just incredible.
Now if only that would translate into something meaningful.
Yes, we are.
All, Heather Cox Richardson spilled the beans on the details of the ‘Dark Maga movement that we’re dealing with and it was bold and brave, and we need to share it everywhere. I will post it below as well as a video from five months ago that lays it out.
We are absolutely supporting you and we are absolutely supporting our kids and freedoms for everybody but we’re at a critical juncture. Erin, please help share this… everyone please help. This has got to be forced into the mainstream news and this is the thing we align around. The Trans community is being hit, as well as well immigrants, because they’re easy to pick on and go after. Truth is now out there, and their actions make gaslighting this impossible.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1H5m81JS7a/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://youtu.be/5RpPTRcz1no
Outstanding good news!
I agree with several comments below, both pro and con regarding this is good news.
That said, I believe there are more people in this country who believe Trans people should be included in every facet of public life.
Now, as one commenter said, if “they would only support us.”
Well, who IS “lacking in honor, dignity, and truth”? Hmmmn….
This makes me proud of cis community.