According to data released Tuesday night by the Pew Research Centre, more than 5 percent of American young adults identify as transgender/nonbinary. A growing number also say they know someone transgender.
Older Americans are more likely to believe their gender is different from the sex they were given at birth, even though they are younger than those who are older than them. According to the findings, 1.6 percent of Americans identify themselves as transgender (or nonbinary), meaning they identify as either male or female.
This new data was compiled from an online survey panel of 10,188 randomly selected people. These findings are part a larger survey about attitudes about gender identity and issues relating to transgender people or nonbinary that will be published sometime this summer, the report states.
The number of transgender adults that they have met has increased steadily since 2017, rising from 37 percent to 42 percent in 2017 and then to 44 percent in 2018. While this number drops as people age, 33% of respondents 65 years and older said they knew a transgender person.
According to the research, more people have transgender friends than they do coworkers or family. About 25% of adults have a friend who’s transgender, and 1 in 10 has a trans family member or coworker.
According to the survey, 1 in 5 Americans said that they know someone who is nonbinary. Similar Pew surveys from last year showed an increase in Americans who say they know someone who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, from 18% in 2018 to 26% in 2021.
Because the survey’s estimate of the U.S. percentage of transgender and nonbinary persons is so difficult to measure historically, the Census Bureau has struggled to update its questions to make it more inclusive. Research sponsored by the Department of Labor in 2016 revealed obstacles to adding questions about sexual orientation or gender identity to the current population study. However, the Census Bureau made the historic move last year to add those questions to its household pulse survey which measures the effect of the pandemic on families.
UCLA Law’s Williams Institute provided an estimate of the U.S. population of nonbinary adults at 1.2 million in 2021. A 2016 report by the institute estimated that the U.S. had 1.4 million transgender adults.
Results from an Ipsos global survey released last year, which drew on data from 19,000 people in 27 countries, found 4 percent of young adult respondents identified as as transgender, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, gender-fluid or “in another way.”
New Pew data shows that it is less likely for a Republican than a Democrat to know a transgender person (48% vs. 42%), but the gap has narrowed over the past year.
Pew researchers also conducted six focus groups with 27 transgender and nonbinary people from different ages and racial backgrounds in March to discuss a variety of topics, including access to gender-affirming healthcare and social policy. These discussions, which were not statistically representative of all Americans, revealed that many historic problems — such as discrimination, bias, and violence — persist.
Participants said that deciding whether or not to reveal their gender identity to others can be a constant calculation. Many participants also mentioned hesitations in discussing transgender identities at work, some due to a perceived lack in professionalism.
The group also discussed financial barriers that prevent them from receiving medical treatments like hormone therapy or surgery. Some even turned to “underground networks” to help. Some felt disconnected from the larger LGBTQ community while others felt more comfortable.
These findings are amidst a record-breaking increase in anti-LGBTQ legislation at the state level. The Human Rights Campaign estimates that more than 320 antiLGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year.
Many participants stated that they didn’t become more confident in their gender identity until later in life. One participant described how he did not know “what trans” until he was in college. “That was when I was able to define myself,” he said.
Participants cited young people as an inspiration for optimism.
A nonbinary participant in their thirties said that they “almost intrinsically so much more” about these topics than my generation. They give me hope for the future.
