Across the board, majorities of American adults reject gender ideology, when it comes to the number of genders, school indoctrination without parental consent, and transgender surgery and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for minors, a new Rasmussen survey reveals.
Self-identified Democrats are the least likely to oppose gender ideology, according to the survey of 1,116 U.S. adults, conducted May 24-25, 2023. But, even for Democrats, majorities agree that there are two genders and support laws prohibiting transgender surgery and HRT for minors. And, while not a majority, more Democrats say schools and teachers should not be allowed to counsel students on their sexual and gender identities, without parental knowledge or consent, than disagree.
Married adults and those with children are particularly supportive of measures to protect children from HRT, surgery, and school indoctrination regarding sexual and gender identity without parental knowledge or consent.
Even significant percentages of those who believe there are more than two genders oppose legal surgery and hormone replacement therapy for minors.
By a three-to-one margin, Americans agree that “there are two genders, male and female.” Fully 71% of adults agree, including 57% who “strongly agree.” Conversely, 23% disagree that there are just two genders, including 10% who strongly disagree.
Four in five (83%) Republicans and two-thirds (67%) of Democrats believe there are two genders.
Among married adults (78%) and those with children (76%), three-fourths agree that all people are either male or female.
Respondents were also asked whether they approve or disapprove of state laws making it illegal to provide HRT and transgender surgery to minors.
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Americans approve of laws making it illegal to give hormone replacement therapy to minors, including 43% who strongly approve. Regardless of whether they have children at home (70%) or are married (66%), Republican (70%) or Democrat (54%), majorities support these laws protecting children.
Thirty-one percent (31%) disapprove of laws against HRT for minors, with 18% voicing strong opposition to such measures.
However, 38% of those who “somewhat” disagree that there are only two genders also approve of laws prohibiting hormone replacement therapy for minors, as do 22% of those who “strongly” disagree about the number of genders.
Americans are strongly supportive (62%) of legislation making it illegal to perform sex-change surgery on minors. Nearly half (46%) “strongly approve” of these laws, more than the 30% who disapprove (18% strongly).
Majorities in every political category also oppose sex-change surgery for minors, with 73% of Republicans, 56% of Democrats and 59% of the unaffiliated at least somewhat approving of legislation making it illegal.
Americans who are married (72%) and those who have children at home (73%) are most likely to approve of laws prohibiting sex-change surgery of minors.
More than a third (36%) of those who somewhat disagree there are only two genders approve of laws prohibiting sex-change surgery for minors. Even 30% of those who strongly disagree that the only genders are male and female approve of laws protecting minors from undergoing sex-change surgery.
Only 26% of American adults think schools and teachers should be allowed to counsel students on sexual and gender identity without parental knowledge or consent, while 60% are opposed to such school practices, and 14% are not sure.
Three-fourths (75%) of Republicans and 64% of those not affiliated with either major party are opposed to schools counseling children on gender identity without informing parents. A plurality of Democrats (44%-41%), as well, don’t think schools should provide clandestine or unapproved counseling on sexual and gender identity.
Almost one in two (46%) of those who somewhat disagree there are only two genders are against counseling of minors without parental knowledge or consent. That number falls to 29% among those who strongly deny that there are but two genders.
Rasmussen’s results showing Americans reject liberal transgender ideology are supported by those of a national Washington Post-KFF survey of adults published earlier this month:
- 57% said a person’s gender is determined by “the sex they were assigned at birth,”
- More than sixty percent said biological males (“trans women and girls”) “should not be allowed to compete in sports with other women and girls,” in youth (62%), high school (66%), college (65%) and professional (65%) sports,
- “Nearly 7 in 10 adults said they oppose allowing children ages 10 to 14 access to medication that stops the body from going through puberty,”
- “Nearly 6 in 10 oppose giving 15- to 17-year-olds access to hormone treatments,”
- Majorities called it “inappropriate for teachers to discuss trans identity in public schools with students” before the students are in high school.
The younger the student, the more likely America adults were to consider it “inappropriate for teachers to discuss trans identity in public schools with students,” The Post’s survey found:
- 77%: inappropriate in Kindergarten to third grade,
- 70%: inappropriate in elementary school grades 4 and 5,
- 52%: inappropriate in middle school grades 6-8,
- 36%: inappropriate in high school grades 9-12.