The percentage of Americans opposed to biological males competing in women’s sports has grown over the past two years, according to recent Gallup polling results.
Overall, 69 percent of respondents in a May Gallup poll said athletes should only be able to compete according to their birth gender; a seven-point increase since May of 2021 when 62 percent of respondents said athletes should compete according to their birth gender.
Gallup’s figures are based on a survey of 1,011 adults located in all 50 U.S. states between May 1 and 24.
In May of 2021, 34 percent of Gallup poll respondents said they would support allowing athletes to compete according to their preferred gender identity. That number fell eight points by the time the survey question was asked again last month.
Support for transgender athletes fell even among respondents who said they know a transgender individual personally. This year, 39 percent of respondents reported knowing a transgender person, compared to 31 percent in 2021.
In 2021, 40 percent of those who knew a transgender individual supported allowing them to play according to their preferred gender identity, while 53 percent remained opposed and 6 percent were undecided. This year, just 30 percent of respondents who knew a transgender individual supported allowing them to play according to their preferred gender while 64 percent remained opposed and 5 percent were undecided.
Respondents who identified as Republican were the most opposed to transgender athletes competing in their preferred gender category. Overall 93 percent of Republican respondents opposed transgender athletes competing in their chosen gender category, up from 86 percent who opposed the idea in 2021.
Sixty-seven percent of self-identified independents told Gallup pollsters they opposed transgender athletes competing in their preferred gender categories. That’s up from 63 percent who opposed the idea in 2021.
Democratic respondents were the most likely to support letting transgender athletes compete in their preferred gender categories, but the number fell from a 55 percent majority of Democrats in 2021. Now, 47 percent of Democrats support allowing transgender athletes in their preferred gender categories while a 48 percent plurality oppose the idea and 6 percent of Democrats remain undecided.
Political liberals were the only category of respondents in the latest Gallup poll that showed a clear majority—57 percent—support for transgender athletes competing in their preferred gender categories.
Young adults were the only category of respondents that grew support for transgender athletes since 2021. Around 35 percent of respondents in the young adult category supported transgender athletes competing in their preferred gender category in 2021, compared to 40 percent in the latest poll.
Support for transgenderism slipped even outside the realm of sports.
In 2021, 51 percent of Gallup poll respondents said changing one’s gender is morally wrong. In 2023, 55 percent of respondents said changing one’s gender was morally wrong.
Political Divide on Women’s Sports
This shift in support for transgender athletes comes as female athletes, like Riley Gaines, have raised concerns about unfair treatment after having competed against biological male athletes in the same women’s categories.
“It appears that Americans view transgender sports participation more through a lens of competitive fairness than transgender civil rights,” Gallup said of its poll results. “Even Democrats, who mostly support LGBTQ+ rights and affirm the morality of gender change, are divided on the issue of whether transgender athletes should be allowed to participate on teams that match their gender identity rather than birth gender.”
Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a bill in April that would bar biological males from competing in women’s sports at publicly-funded institutions. House Republicans passed the bill with no support from Democrats in the House. The legislation faces tougher odds in the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate and President Joe Biden has already vowed to veto the legislation if it comes to his desk.
Separately, the Biden administration’s Department of Education has proposed a rule that would prohibit schools from imposing their own categorical bans on transgender athletes competing in their chosen gender.
