Most US voters oppose body mutilating sex-change surgeries for kids but too afraid speak up: poll
Although most Americans oppose allowing surgeons to perform sex-change operations on children and teenagers suffering from gender dysphoria and teaching young children about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, many are afraid to speak about such hot-button issues due to fear of retribution.
Summit Ministries, in conjunction with McLaughlin & Associates, conducted a poll of 1,000 general election voters between April 22-26 and asked respondents for their views on LGBT issues, specifically the debate about body mutilation surgeries for minors and teaching matters related to sexual orientation and gender identity to young children.
One question asked participants to share their “personal opinions about transgenderism,” specifically whether they “believe it is a healthy human condition that should be celebrated” or “do not believe it is a healthy human condition.” Those who selected the latter option had the opportunity to clarify whether they “stay silent on the issue to not offend others” or are “willing to say so.”
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A majority of respondents (56%) indicated that they do not believe transgenderism is a “healthy human condition.” Twenty-seven percent hold that view and are willing to share it in public, while 29% elect to remain silent about their true beliefs on the issue. Thirty-two percent of Americans characterized transgenderism as a “healthy condition.”
The differing responses to that question reflect the partisan divide among demographic subgroups, with majorities of liberals (61%), those who approve of President Joe Biden’s job performance (52%), Democrats (51%) and those who plan on voting for Democrats in the upcoming congressional elections (51%) viewing transgenderism as healthy, and pluralities or majorities of all other subgroups seeing it as “not healthy.”
An overwhelming majority of those surveyed (78%) told pollsters that minors suffering from gender confusion should “be required to wait until they are legal adults” before undergoing life-altering surgeries, such as removing breast tissue and genital mutilation, including removing one's testicles (an orchidectomy) or severing the penis to create a cavity (a vaginoplasty).
By contrast, 9% said gender-confused children “should be encouraged to undergo permanent gender alteration.” Majorities of all subgroups agreed that children should have to wait until adulthood before they undergo elective, life-changing elective operations.
Requiring “medical professionals performing gender-altering procedures” to “disclose the common, long-term medical and psychological impact of such procedures” received an even higher level of support among all demographic groups. Eighty-one percent of respondents supported requiring the disclosure of side effects associated with body mutilation surgeries, while 9% opposed the idea.
The questions about body mutilation surgeries for minors come as some states, including Arizona and Arkansas, have banned the procedures for children due to concerns about their longterm effects.
As Florida continues to face pushback from LGBT activists for enacting a law prohibiting school officials from engaging in discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten through third grade, the poll demonstrated opposition to such discussions among the American public.
When asked to weigh in on “schools teaching about sexual identity and sexual behavior with elementary-age children,” 38% of respondents described such instruction as “inappropriate in a school setting,” while an additional 28% said it was “dangerous because it could lead to children being groomed for sexual encounters at a young age.” Slightly more than one-fourth (26%) of participants thought such material was “appropriate in a school setting.”
Liberals are the most likely demographic subgroup to view the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity at school as “appropriate” (54%), followed by those who approve of President Joe Biden’s job performance (47%), those planning on voting Democrat in the upcoming congressional elections (46%), Democrats (44%), those who supported Biden in the 2020 presidential election (43%), those residing in urban areas (32%) and African Americans (30%).
Besides rural Americans, pluralities of all other subgroups believe that such instruction is “inappropriate.” A plurality of those living in rural areas (40%) think teaching children about sexual orientation and gender identity is “dangerous.”
Another question asked whether it was “possible to distinguish between men and women.”
An overwhelming majority of those surveyed (89%) answered in the affirmative, while 7% said “no.” A narrower majority of respondents (53%) disagreed with the idea that “a person’s biological sex and their gender are two separate things.” Thirty-six percent of the sample agreed with the proposition that an individual’s biological sex is different from their gender.
Majorities of liberals (62%) planning on voting for Democrats in the upcoming election, those who voted for Biden in the 2020 presidential election (53%), Democrats (52%), and those who approve of Biden’s performance as president (52%), view biological sex and gender identity as distinct, while majorities of all other subgroups do not.
A separate poll conducted by the American Principles Project of voters in battleground states from May 2-6 yielded similar findings. The poll surveyed 1,200 likely voters in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all states that have competitive U.S. Senate races this year. The survey found that 56% of respondents residing in battleground states supported laws banning minors from obtaining puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and medicalized gender transition surgeries, while 31% opposed them.
The American Principles Project poll also revealed that 60% of Americans living in battleground states supported laws banning school officials from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten through third grade, while 34% opposed such laws.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
