(The Lion) — New polling shows most Americans believe there are only two genders, and that view’s popularity is rising.
“[The] concept that there are more than two genders is one that is still fairly new to most Americans,” Melissa Deckman, CEO of PRRI, told The Christian Post.
The push against transgenderism, particularly in schools, has come to fruition in several state legislatures, with states like Montana, Kansas, and Tennessee defining gendered words like “man” and “woman” according to biological sex.
According to the poll, 50% of Americans “feel strongly” there are only two genders, while just 14% believe strongly in a “range of many possible gender identities.”
Predictably, Republicans lean heavily toward the gender binary, while Democrats are more divided.
PRRI also polled people’s opinions on how topics of gender and sexual orientation should be handled in the classroom.
One-third of survey participants believe homosexual relationships should never be discussed in K-12 education, while a quarter said the same of heterosexual relationships.
A similar percentage (34%) thought transgenderism should not be discussed at school.
Researchers also found strong resistance to sexual education in elementary school, with most Americans preferring to introduce such topics as contraception in middle or high school.
Those beliefs were similar across political divides:
Finally, nearly half (49%) of respondents agree public schools give students harmful information about gender and sexual orientation. And more than half (53%) agree public schools are interfering with parental rights.
As debates about public education and gender ideology have become more heated, critics say progressives are trying to push the narrative that conservatives are a small, narrow-minded – albeit vocal – minority. The Biden administration even labeled parents as “domestic terrorists” for protesting at public school board meetings.
But PRRI’s study shows the belief in two genders and what’s appropriate in schools is widely held by people of diverse ages, religions, and political affiliations.
