Pew Research Center

Would you favor or oppose the following policies?

Protect trans people from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces

Wording notes: uses the abbreviation 'trans'

neutral — symmetric favor/oppose stem

Would you favor or oppose the following policies?

Require trans athletes to compete on teams that match their sex assigned at birth

neutral — symmetric favor/oppose stem

Would you favor or oppose the following policies?

Ban health care professionals from providing care related to gender transitions for minors

neutral — symmetric favor/oppose stem

Would you favor or oppose the following policies?

Require trans people to use public bathrooms that match their sex at birth, rather than the gender they identify with

neutral — symmetric favor/oppose stem

Would you favor or oppose the following policies?

Make it illegal for public school districts to teach about gender identity in elementary schools

neutral — symmetric favor/oppose stem

Would you favor or oppose the following policies?

Require health insurance companies to cover medical care for gender transitions

neutral — symmetric favor/oppose stem

Would you favor or oppose the following? [policy proposals related to gender identity and transgender issues]

Laws that would protect transgender people from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces

Wording notes: explicit 'neither' midpoint absorbs a quarter of respondents | highest-support item in the battery and the only clearly affirming proposal

neutral — symmetric favor/oppose stem with a genuine midpoint

Would you favor or oppose the following?

Policies that require transgender athletes to compete on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth

neutral — symmetric favor/oppose stem with a midpoint

Would you favor or oppose the following?

Policies that require transgender individuals to use public bathrooms that match the sex they were assigned at birth

neutral — symmetric stem with a midpoint

Would you favor or oppose the following?

Laws and policies that would make it illegal for public school districts to teach about gender identity in elementary schools

neutral — symmetric stem with a midpoint

Would you favor or oppose the following?

Requiring health insurance companies to cover medical care for gender transitions

neutral — symmetric stem with a midpoint

Would you favor or oppose the following?

Making it illegal for health care professionals to provide someone younger than 18 with medical care for gender transitions

neutral — symmetric stem with a midpoint

Would you favor or oppose the following?

Laws and policies that require parents to be investigated for child abuse if they helped someone younger than 18 get medical care for a gender transition

Wording notes: fielded weeks after Texas Governor Abbott's February 2022 directive ordering child-abuse investigations of parents of trans minors

neutral — symmetric stem with a midpoint on a concrete, then-live policy

On a different topic...

Which statement comes closer to your views, even if neither is exactly right?

Wording notes: response options randomized | no middle option

neutral — two symmetric statements, order randomized

Which of the following statements comes closest to your view?

Wording notes: options 1 and 2 randomized with 'about right' always last | 2017 version of the stem read 'comes closer to your feelings'

neutral — symmetric too-far/not-far-enough pair with explicit middle option; anchoring 'about right' last may depress it

The next few questions are related to people who are transgender, that is, people whose gender is different from the sex they were assigned at birth (such as a person assigned male at birth who identifies as a woman). Issues related to gender identity have been in the news recently, and we are interested in learning what the American public thinks about these issues.

How much discrimination do you think there is against transgender people in our society today?

Wording notes: Form 1 only | explicit 'Not sure' offered | response options rotated 1-5/5-1

neutral — standard perceived-discrimination scale

See TRANSGEND7 preamble.

How accepting do you think our society is of people who are transgender?

Wording notes: Form 2 only | explicit 'Not sure' offered | response options rotated 1-5/5-1

neutral — standard unipolar acceptance scale

As you may know, several states have recently proposed bills related to people who are transgender. How closely have you been following news about these bills?

Wording notes: 'As you may know' presupposition | does not describe what the bills would do

neutral — attention item; the 'as you may know' stem is standard Pew practice and does not take a side

Here are some current laws and policies that are either in place or being considered in the U.S. related to transgender issues.

Would you favor or oppose laws or policies that do each of the following? ... Protect transgender individuals from discrimination in jobs, housing, and public spaces such as restaurants and stores

Wording notes: items randomized within battery | response options rotated 1-5/5-1 | explicit 'neither favor nor oppose' middle option

neutral — balanced favor/oppose with midpoint; 'protect ... from discrimination' is the standard legal description of such laws

Here are some current laws and policies that are either in place or being considered in the U.S. related to transgender issues.

Would you favor or oppose laws or policies that do each of the following? ... Require transgender individuals to use public bathrooms that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with

Wording notes: items randomized within battery | explicit 'neither favor nor oppose' middle option | restrictive direction: favoring = restricting

neutral — balanced favor/oppose; the '...not the gender they identify with' clause makes the restriction explicit rather than euphemistic

Here are some current laws and policies that are either in place or being considered in the U.S. related to transgender issues.

Would you favor or oppose laws or policies that do each of the following? ... Make it illegal for public school districts to teach about gender identity in elementary schools

Wording notes: items randomized within battery | 'Make it illegal' phrasing | explicit middle option

neutral — balanced favor/oppose; 'make it illegal' is a literal description of the bills at issue

Here are some current laws and policies that are either in place or being considered in the U.S. related to transgender issues.

Would you favor or oppose laws or policies that do each of the following? ... Require that transgender athletes compete on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with

Wording notes: items randomized within battery | does not specify level of competition or sex of athlete | explicit middle option

neutral — balanced favor/oppose; unlike many pollsters' versions the item does not single out girls'/women's sports

Here are some current laws and policies that are either in place or being considered in the U.S. related to transgender issues.

Would you favor or oppose laws or policies that do each of the following? ... Require health insurance companies to cover medical care for gender transitions

Wording notes: items randomized within battery | mandate framing ('require ... companies') | explicit middle option

neutral — balanced favor/oppose; note that the mandate framing bundles support for the care with support for compelling insurers

Here are some current laws and policies that are either in place or being considered in the U.S. related to transgender issues.

Would you favor or oppose laws or policies that do each of the following? ... Make it illegal for health care professionals to provide someone younger than 18 with medical care for a gender transition

Wording notes: items randomized within battery | 'make it illegal' targets providers, not patients | does not distinguish blockers/hormones/surgery | explicit middle option

neutral — balanced favor/oppose; lumping all forms of transition-related care together is a measurement limitation rather than a directional tilt

Here are some current laws and policies that are either in place or being considered in the U.S. related to transgender issues.

Would you favor or oppose laws or policies that do each of the following? ... Investigate parents for child abuse if they help someone younger than 18 get medical care for a gender transition

Wording notes: items randomized within battery | tracks the February 2022 Texas directive | explicit middle option | not re-asked in 2025

neutral — balanced favor/oppose describing an actual state policy

How much has each of the following influenced your views about whether someone's gender can be different from the sex they were assigned at birth? ... What you've learned from science

Wording notes: items randomized | response options rotated 1-5/5-1

neutral — self-reported influence scale

How much has each of the following influenced your views about whether someone's gender can be different from the sex they were assigned at birth? ... Your religious views

Wording notes: items randomized

neutral — self-reported influence scale

How much has each of the following influenced your views about whether someone's gender can be different from the sex they were assigned at birth? ... What you've heard or read in the news

Wording notes: items randomized

neutral — self-reported influence scale

How much has each of the following influenced your views about whether someone's gender can be different from the sex they were assigned at birth? ... Knowing someone who is transgender

Wording notes: items randomized

neutral — self-reported influence scale

The next few questions are related to people who are transgender, that is, people whose gender is different from the sex they were assigned at birth (such as a person assigned male at birth who identifies as a woman).

Do you personally know anyone who is transgender?

Wording notes: wording modified from the 2017/2021 version, which read 'Thinking about the people you know, including yourself...'

neutral — factual contact item

Thinking about the person or people you know who are transgender, are any of them... a. A family member / b. A friend / c. A co-worker / d. Younger than 18

Wording notes: asked only of the 4,718 who know a transgender person | items a-c randomized with item d always last

neutral — factual inventory item

Thinking about a person who transitions to a gender that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth and starts using a new name... In general, how important do you think it is that others refer to that person by their new name?

Wording notes: Form 1 only | adds a non-scalar 'Should not be done' option below the scale floor | response options rotated 1-5/5-1 with option 6 always last

neutral — importance scale; the added 'should not be done' option lets refusal be expressed rather than collapsed into 'not at all important'

Thinking about a person who transitions to a gender that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth and starts going by different pronouns (such as "she" instead of "he")... In general, how important do you think it is that others refer to that person by their new pronouns?

Wording notes: Form 2 only | adds a non-scalar 'Should not be done' option

neutral — importance scale parallel to TRANSGEND9

Some people don't identify as a man or a woman. Instead, they may describe themselves as not having a gender or describe their gender using terms such as "nonbinary" or "gender fluid." How much have you heard about people not identifying as a man or a woman?

Wording notes: definition supplied in stem | response options rotated 1-3/3-1

neutral — awareness item with descriptive definition

Do you personally know anyone who does not identify as a man or a woman?

Wording notes: asked only of those who had heard a lot/a little (n=8,453); rebased to total, 20% of all adults know someone

neutral — factual contact item

When a form or online profile asks about a person's gender, do you think it should include options other than "male" and "female" for people who don't identify as either?

Wording notes: Form 1 only | no middle option

neutral — straightforward yes/no with the rationale ('for people who don't identify as either') stated once

When government documents such as passports and driver's licenses ask about a person's gender, do you think they should include options other than "male" and "female" for people who don't identify as either?

Wording notes: Form 2 only | no middle option

neutral — parallel yes/no item

As far as you know, have any of your children who are in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL learned about people who are transgender or who don't identify as a boy or a girl from a teacher or another adult at their school?

Wording notes: asked only of parents of elementary schoolers

neutral — factual report about the respondent's own child

In general, do you think the fact that your ELEMENTARY SCHOOL child has not learned at school about people who are transgender or who don't identify as a boy or a girl is a...

Wording notes: asked only of parents whose elementary child has NOT learned about this | good/bad randomized with 'neither' always last | TRANSGEND16a (parents whose child HAD learned) was suppressed for small sample

neutral — balanced good/bad with midpoint

As far as you know, have any of your children who are in MIDDLE OR HIGH SCHOOL learned about people who are transgender or who don't identify as a boy or a girl from a teacher or another adult at their school?

Wording notes: asked only of parents of middle/high schoolers

neutral — factual report about the respondent's own child

In general, do you think the fact that your MIDDLE OR HIGH SCHOOL child has learned at school about people who are transgender or who don't identify as a boy or a girl is a...

Wording notes: asked only of parents whose middle/high schooler HAS learned about this

neutral — balanced good/bad with midpoint

In general, do you think the fact that your MIDDLE OR HIGH SCHOOL child has not learned at school about people who are transgender or who don't identify as a boy or a girl is a...

Wording notes: asked only of parents whose middle/high schooler has NOT learned about this

neutral — balanced good/bad with midpoint

Thinking about the topics we asked you about in this survey related to transgender issues and people who don't identify as a man or a woman, would you say views on these issues in our society are...

Wording notes: asked at the end of the battery, so answers are conditioned on the preceding items | options 1 and 2 randomized with 'about the right speed' always last

neutral — symmetric too-fast/too-slow pair with a midpoint

Now just a couple of questions for demographic purposes...

What sex were you assigned at birth, on your original birth certificate? [Male / Female] ... Do you describe yourself as a man, a woman, nonbinary or in some other way? [A man / A woman / Nonbinary / In some other way]

Wording notes: two-step sex-at-birth/gender-identity measure with a GENDERCONFIRM verification item for mismatches (n=75) | decimals reported because of small shares

neutral — standard two-step gender identity measure

Here are some current laws and policies that are either in place or being considered in the U.S. related to transgender issues.

Here are some current laws and policies that are either in place or being considered in the U.S. related to transgender issues. Would you favor or oppose laws or policies that do each of the following? Make it illegal for health care professionals to provide someone younger than 18 with medical care for a gender transition

Wording notes: BAN framing - 'make it illegal' is the strongest criminalization verb in the corpus | explicit under-18 threshold | no treatment named | regulated party is health care professionals | offers an explicit neither-favor-nor-oppose midpoint, taken by 22% | items randomized and response options rotated 1-5/5-1

neutral — Methodologically the strongest instrument here: randomized items, rotated response order, and an explicit midpoint. The midpoint is the analytic point - offering it moves roughly a fifth of respondents out of both camps, which is why Pew's 46% favor is not comparable to two-way ban items in the 55-71% range. Comparing this item with Marquette's or Gallup's is largely a comparison of whether a middle option was on the card.