Majority of US adults are comfortable if their child are lesbian, gay, or bisxual
Majority of US adults are okay if their offspring are lesbian, gay, or bisexual, as reported in a poll of The Trevor Project.
The survey conducted by Morning Consult of 2,210 adults in the US between February 18 and 19 reported that 62 percent of them are comfortable if their child came out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual.
However, a lower number of adults or 50 percent said they’d be comfortable if their child came out as being nonbinary or transgender.
US adults by the numbers
The poll also reported that 13 percent of US adults are not comfortable if their child came out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual.
what’s more, 16 percent said they would not be comfortable if their child came out as transgender, and 16 percent if their child came out as nonbinary.
But the poll also reported that 72 percent said they would be “confident that they would be able to understand and support their child if they came out as transgender and/or nonbinary.”
Meanwhile, 49 percent reported that they would be comfortable if their child began using ‘they/them’ pronouns, while 1 in 5 said they would not be comfortable at all.
In a press release, The Trevor Project noted that those most aware of the fact that people use gender-neutral pronouns “generally were more comfortable about the prospect of their child using they/them pronouns.”
However, those who weren’t aware of gender-neutral pronouns were 2.4 times more likely not able to fully understand or support their nonbinary and/or transgender children.
Importance of LGBTQ visibility
The poll also reported that 69 percent said they know someone who is gay. 65 percent reported knowing someone who is a lesbian, and 47 percent reported knowing someone who is bisexual.
Casey Pick, JD, a senior fellow for Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project, pointed out to Healthline that “less than half of US adults reported personally knowing someone who is bisexual.”
“Given that bisexual people make up such a large percentage of the LGBTQ community, it was a bit unexpected to learn that most respondents couldn’t say that they personally knew someone who is bi,” Pick said.
Only 29 percent reported knowing someone who is transgender, while 17 percent said they know someone who is nonbinary.
Moreover, three percent said they don’t understand the term transgender itself, 12 percent reported not understanding the term nonbinary, and 19 percent reported not knowing the term pansexual.
US adults and LGBTQ identities
Pick noted that the data of US adults being comfortable with their child being lesbian, gay, or bisexual “point toward a larger societal trend of acceptance surrounding LGBTQ identities.”
“As we continue to increase representation, understanding, and education around LGBTQ people, it makes sense that we might see most people feel comfortable with the idea of raising an LGBTQ child,” Pick said.
Pick added that while there is still a lot of work to be done, “these findings offer a positive reminder that a significant amount of progress has been made over the last few decades.”
Pick further noted that the data shows “”we have a lot of work to do when it comes to increasing people’s understanding of transgender and nonbinary identities.”