Majority of Americans believe a person’s gender is determined by their birth sex

In a recently published survey conducted by Pew Research, it found that a majority of Americans, 60 percent, believe that a person’s gender is determined by the gender they were born as.

This statistic is up from 56 percent in 2021, and 54 percent in 2017.

In reference to a question asking what has influenced their views on whether a person’s gender can be different from their biological gender, 44 percent said that science has had a great deal or fair amount of influence on that decision. 28 percent said their religion played a factor, while 22 percent said personally knowing someone who is transgender had a role to play.

Americans were nearly evenly divided in regards to questions on whether society has gone too far or not far enough in accepting transgender people.

Overall, 38 percent said that society has gone too far, 36 percent said society has not gone far enough, and 23 percent said it was just about right.

This statistic has crept up from 2017, where 32 percent said that society has gone too far in accepting transgender individuals, while 39 percent said society has not gone far enough. 27 percent had said society has been just right about acceptance.

This number fluctuated between age groups and political parties, with 47 percent of young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 saying society has not gone far enough, and 42 percent of people 65 and older saying it’s gone too far. Republicans were far more likely to say that society has gone too far in accepting these individuals at 66 percent, while Democrats leaned heavily in the other direction, at 59 percent.

While Democrats generally supported legislation that would protect transgender individuals from various discrimination, Republicans were more likely to support legislation that separates gender-based activities and location by birth sex.

Notably, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans did not support requiring health insurance companies to cover gender transitions. Only 7 percent of Republicans supported such an action, while 44 percent of Democrats expressed their support. 27 percent of all adults said they would support such an action.

58 percent of Americans said that they would support separating sports teams by a person’s biological gender.

The number of Americans that personally know any transgender people has also jumped compared to previous surveys. In the 2022 survey, 44 percent said yes, compared to 42 percent in 2021, 27 percent in 2017, and 30 percent in 2016.

A majority of respondents said that there shouldn’t be a separate gender category on government documents for those that identify as non-binary, with 60 percent responding as such.

A large group of Americans, 43 percent, said that issues related to transgender or nonbinary individuals are changing too quickly. 26 percent said that it’s not changing fast enough, while 28 percent said it was just right.