Poll: Few support males competing in women’s sports 

No matter how you break it down, most Americans do not want males competing in women’s sports, a new Pew Research Center analysis shows.

Pew released the analysis Tuesday. It used survey data collected in November 2025.

The poll found 73% of U.S. adults were uncomfortable with “transgender athletes competing on sports teams that don’t match their sex at birth.”

Just 13% said they were extremely or very comfortable with it. Another 14% were somewhat comfortable.

Opposition crossed nearly every group Pew measured.

Seventy-seven percent of men were uncomfortable with males competing outside their sex. Sixty-nine percent of women said the same.

Most people of every race also expressed discomfort. That included 75% of white adults, 68% of black adults and 68% of Asian adults. Sixty-seven percent of Hispanic adults agreed.

Even the youngest adults opposed it.

Sixty percent of adults ages 18 to 29 were uncomfortable with transgender athletes competing outside their sex. The number rose to 70% among adults ages 30 to 49.

Seventy-nine percent of those ages 50 to 64 were uncomfortable with it. The number reached 80% among adults ages 65 and older.

LGBTQ-identifying adults were the one clear exception among the demographic groups shown by Pew. Just 34% were uncomfortable with males competing outside their sex. Forty-five percent were extremely or very comfortable with it. Another 21% were somewhat comfortable.

The poll also found a wide split based on party.

Ninety-one percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning adults were uncomfortable with the practice. That included 95% of conservative Republicans.

Fifty-five percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults were also uncomfortable with it. Among moderate and conservative Democrats, the number was 68%.

Liberal Democrats were another outlier. Thirty-eight percent were uncomfortable with transgender athletes competing outside their sex. Sixty-one percent were at least somewhat comfortable with it.

The poll measured comfort rather than asking people to vote for or against a ban.

However, a separate Pew survey from February 2025 asked directly about sex-based sports rules.

It found 66% favored requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams matching their sex at birth. Just 15% opposed such rules. The other 19% neither favored nor opposed them.

Support rose from 58% in 2022.

Among Republicans, 88% favored sex-based team rules. Forty-five percent of Democrats agreed, up from 37% in 2022.

The November survey also asked whether a person’s sex determines if that person is a man or a woman. Sixty-seven percent said it does; 31% said a person can be a man or woman even when that identity does not match their sex.

Among those who said sex determines whether someone is male or female, 89% were uncomfortable with transgender athletes competing outside their sex.

The findings match other polling that Heartlander News has covered. A January 2025 New York Times/Ipsos poll found 79% of Americans opposed allowing transgender-identifying males to compete in girls’ sports. Just 18% supported it.

Sports groups and courts have also moved toward protecting female competition.

The NCAA changed its rules in February 2025. Males may no longer compete on women’s teams or receive scholarships set aside for female athletes.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in June that Idaho and West Virginia may reserve female sports for females. The court said such rules can “reduce the risk of physical injury and ensure fair competition.”

Congress has yet to pass a nationwide law protecting women’s sports. Senate Democrats blocked such a bill in March 2025 even though Pew found broad support for the policy.

The latest numbers show these Democratic lawmakers hold a fringe view on this issue. Across sex, race and age, most Americans want the basic difference between male and female to remain part of athletic competition.