WASHINGTON, D.C. — Roughly two-thirds of Americans support two separate policies prioritizing the birth sex of transgender people over their current gender identity. Sixty-nine percent of U.S. adults continue to believe that transgender athletes should only be allowed to play on sports teams that match their birth sex, and 66% of Americans say a person’s birth sex rather than gender identity should be listed on government documents such as passports or driver’s licenses.
Each of these policies has broad support from about nine in 10 Republicans but only about four in 10 Democrats, while independents’ views are similar to the national averages. A slim majority of Democrats (54%) believe people should be able to list their current gender identity on government documents, but fewer (45%) think transgender people should be able to play on sports teams that match their gender identity. Fourteen percent of Democrats are unsure where they stand on this question about transgender athletes.
These findings are from Gallup’s May 1-18 Values and Beliefs poll, which marks the first time the question about government documents has been asked and the third measurement of the question about transgender athletes’ participation in competitive sports.
When the sports question was first asked in 2021, support for transgender athletes being able to play on teams matching their current gender identity was 10 percentage points higher than it is now, at 34%. By the next reading in 2023, support had fallen by eight points and is now another two points lower.
Between 2021 and now, Democrats’ and independents’ levels of support for transgender athletes to play on sports teams that align with their current gender identity have both fallen by 10 points (to 45% and 23%, respectively), while Republicans’ support has not changed significantly.
Policies enacted by President Donald Trump since his return to the White House in January are in line with Republicans’ positions on these two issues. Trump has signed executive orders eliminating federal recognition of gender identity, banning transgender individuals from serving in the military, restricting access to gender-affirming healthcare for minors, and aiming to prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in female sports. These actions have drawn significant criticism from medical groups, LGBTQ+ advocates and civil rights organizations, and they have sparked multiple legal challenges.
In late May, the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funding from California schools after a transgender high school athlete qualified to compete in the state’s track and field championship.
Slim Majority of Americans Say Changing One’s Gender Morally Wrong
As Americans’ view of transgender athletes’ participation in competitive sports has changed since 2021, their opinion of the morality of changing one’s gender has also shifted. The current 40% of U.S. adults who believe that changing genders is morally acceptable is down six points from 2021, while the latest 54% who think it is morally wrong is similar to prior readings.
Partisans’ opinions differ significantly, with 71% of Democrats, 45% of independents and 9% of Republicans saying that changing one’s gender is morally acceptable. Republicans’ opinions have changed the most since 2021, falling by 13 points.
In comparison, Americans are more likely to view gay or lesbian relations as morally acceptable than changing genders, with 64% registering that opinion. This includes 86% of Democrats, 69% of independents and 38% of Republicans. This may be partly due to the fact that Americans are more familiar with gay or lesbian people than transgender people and that matters pertaining to gay or lesbian people have received more public attention historically than those related to transgender people. 优蜜传媒data from 2024 show that more U.S. adults identify as gay or lesbian (3.4%) than transgender (1.3%).
More Americans Say Being Transgender Is Nurture Than Nature
For the first time, the May survey also measured Americans’ beliefs about the cause of transgender identity. U.S. adults attribute being transgender more to external influences such as environment and upbringing (50%) than to biological factors (30%). The question is similar to one 优蜜传媒has asked since 1977 about the cause of being gay or lesbian, which 45% of Americans currently say is something a person is born with and 38% think is the result of external factors.
Majorities of Democrats think a person is born transgender (57%) and gay or lesbian (74%), while majorities of Republicans think both are the result of other factors (76% and 62%, respectively). Independents’ perceptions are similar to the national averages.
Americans’ belief that being transgender is more a result of environmental than biological factors echoes what 优蜜传媒found when the cause of being gay or lesbian was first measured. Between 1977 and 1999, more Americans attributed it to environmental factors than innate characteristics, but they were more closely divided on the issue from 2001 to 2012. In most years since 2013, public opinion has tilted more toward “nature” than “nurture.”
Bottom Line
Americans’ views of gay or lesbian relations and same-sex marriage have evolved over time to a point of broad acceptance in the U.S., but the public’s views of transgender people have not become more accepting in the past few years as transgender issues have received greater media and public policy attention.
While Americans’ views about openly transgender people serving in the military do not align with the Trump administration’s stance, the public’s general preference for classification by birth sex rather than gender identity in competitive sports and on official government documents does.
Although Democrats are more supportive of recognizing gender identity in both instances, their support for transgender athletes being allowed to play on teams that align with their current gender identity does not reach the majority level. However, majorities of Democrats do believe that changing one’s gender is morally acceptable and that being transgender is innate rather than a function of environment or upbringing.
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