Canadians deeply divided on trans issues
But most agree the media is giving trans issues too much attention
Hi! With the 1 million person march for children on tomorrow, Angus Reid released a poll which I write about here. Underneath, I have some important other articles, including one on how the Ontario Federation of Labour plans to counter protest every march everywhere and steal the media message. Also, they characterize those participating in the march as fascists. This is remarkable, given these are simply people who don’t accept transgender ideology and don’t want those concepts to be part of their education, especially without their consent or knowledge.
Poll finds Canadians deeply split on transgender issues
One-third of Canadians say male and female is 'too limiting' but most don’t want their children on cross-sex hormones.
By Lee Harding
Canadians are deeply divided on gender definition, womanhood, and transgender issues, according to a recent poll.
A new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute – the second in a series of reports on Canada and the Culture Wars revealed the findings.
Overall, more than half of Canadians (56%) say that they would define a person as either male or female. One-in-three (34%) find the gender binary too limiting. This is more common among females (40% say this) than males (26%), but overwhelming for those who do not identify as male or female themselves (73%). Meanwhile two-thirds of men over the age of 34 say two genders is enough.
These divisions extend to deeper conversations of transgender issues. For instance, what is a woman? One-in-three (34%) say it’s only those who were born biologically female, while others dispute that definition. One-in-three argue that anyone who wants to can identify as a woman (35%) and one-in-five (18%) say a woman is someone who has female genitals, whether they were born with them or they received gender affirmation surgery.
When it comes to children, seven-in-ten (69%) say they would accept and accommodate their child’s wish to change their gender identity, including three-in-five parents (61%) who have children younger than 18. Twelve per cent would resist this behavour and 9% would reject it.
That said, support for beginning a child on hormone therapy drops to one-in-five among both the general population and among that same group of parents. These responses vary slightly when different ages are presented for the child – eight, 12, and 16 years old – but majority opposition is consistent.
Terms like “pregnant person” instead of pregnant woman, or in some cases “people who menstruate” instead of women were rejected by most. They found the highest support among young women where they rise to 33%,, twice the level noted by the general population (17%) – and among those who do not identify as male or female (60%).
Placement of gender pronouns in social media profiles and email signatures was supported by two-in-five young women or non-binary people, but rejected by majorities of all other groups.
Sixty-four per cent of people believed that increasing acceptance of transgender people was a sign of social progress. Even so, 60% of Canadians believe news media give too much attention to trans issues, and only 12% believe it has received too little attention.
As for pro-Pride commercial campaigns, such as those by Disney, Walmart, Starbucks, Lululemon, and major banks, one-in-five Canadians want more support of this kind, 31% think the current support is suitable, and much of the remainder wants to see less–including roughly half of men older than 34.
Should a 16-year-old boy who identifies as a girl be allowed to play girls’ sports? Twenty-seven percent said yes, 36% said it depended on the sport, and 38% said no. For eight-year-olds, 31% said yes, 39% said it depended on the sport, and 30% said no. A majority (62%) opposed biological males competing against girls in wrestling, dropping to 28% opposition for track and field, and only 5% in baseball or softball.
Upcoming studies will discuss climate and the economy, colonialism and Indigenous Issues, and race and ethnicity – including topics such as privilege, cultural appropriation, equity, discrimination and racism. CLICK HERE to take the Angus Reid Canadian Culture Mindsets Quiz.
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