Poll Finds More Americans Accepting Gender Fluidity

Americans divide about how society should define gender, according to an Exclusive Point Taken-Marist Poll, commissioned by WGBH Boston for its new late-night, multi-platform PBS debate series "Point Taken." Most Americans do, however, recognize greater acceptance of transgender or gender fluid people in the United States. In fact, nine in 10 Americans think transgender individuals should receive equal protection under the law when it comes to both employment and housing. Although fewer, nearly two-thirds of residents nationally also think the transgender community should have the same type of legal protection when it comes to public restrooms.
Forty-five percent of Americans think the sex listed on a person's birth certificate is the only way to define a person's gender. Forty-one percent of residents, though, think that definition is outdated and needs to be updated to include a person's gender identity. A majority of Americans who know a transgender or gender fluid person, 50 percent, are more likely than those who do not, 34 percent, to say the definition of gender should be revised to include identity. Women, 48 percent, and residents under 45 years old, 47 percent, are more likely than men, 33 percent, and Americans 45 or older, 35 percent, to have this view. Regional differences are also present. Americans living in the Northeast, 51 percent, and West, 49 percent, are more likely than residents in the Midwest, 24 percent, to believe the meaning of gender should move beyond the sex listed on a person's birth certificate and should include how a person self-describes his or her identity. Americans who live in the South divide. Forty-one percent share this view, and 43 percent believe gender should remain defined as an individual's sex at birth.
"These results help set the table for tonight's Point Taken as we go beyond the headlines to explore Americans' point of view about gender rights," says Denise Dilanni, series creator and Senior Executive-in-Charge.
Despite the divide about how gender should be defined, most Americans, 80 percent, think greater acceptance of transgender and gender fluid people exists in today's society than a decade ago. Ninety percent of U.S. residents also think the transgender community should receive the same rights and protections as other Americans when it comes to both employment and housing. However, support is not as overwhelming when it comes to public restrooms. While nearly two-thirds of residents, 64 percent, report transgender people should have equal rights in this area, 27 percent do not think they should receive equal protection under the law when it comes to public restrooms. Americans under 45 years of age, 70 percent, are more likely than their older counterparts, 57 percent, to say transgender people should receive the same rights as other Americans. Interestingly, 22 percent of those who know someone who is transgender or gender fluid do not think rights pertaining to public restrooms should be the same for all Americans.
On the question of whether public restrooms should be gender neutral, six in 10 Americans, 60 percent, think restrooms should be separated as male and female and should not be gender neutral. Thirty-one percent say public bathrooms should be gender neutral for anyone to use. Residents 45 years of age and older, 67 percent, men, 66 percent, and white Americans, 65 percent, are more likely than those under 45 years old, 54 percent, women, 55 percent, and non-white Americans, 52 percent, to say public restrooms should be labeled as "male" or "female."
Should transgender and gender fluid individuals be allowed to choose the public restroom with which they identify? Americans divide. Forty-three percent report individuals should be allowed to make that decision while 44 percent say transgender people should use the bathroom that correlates with the sex on his or her birth certificate. Americans who know someone who is transgender, 51 percent, and women, 50 percent, are more likely than those who do not know someone who is transgender, 39 percent, and men, 37 percent, to assert transgender individuals should be able to choose which restroom they use. Americans living in the Northeast, 53 percent, and West, 52 percent, and Millennials, 54 percent, are more likely than their counterparts to have this view.
Close to six in 10 Americans, 59 percent, say they do not know someone who is transgender or gender fluid. A notable 39 percent of the American public say they do.
This survey of 507 adults was conducted May 12-14 by The Marist Poll, sponsored and funded in partnership with WGBH's "Point Taken." Adults 18 years of age and older residing in the contiguous U.S. were contacted on landline or mobile numbers and interviewed in English by telephone using live interviewers. Results are statistically significant within plus/minus 4.4 percentage points. The error margin was not adjusted for sample weights and increases for cross-tabulations.
For more on "Point Taken," visit http://pbs.org/pointtaken.