Support for LGBT People Declines in a Recent Survey
NEWS COMMENTARY
Support and comfort with LGBT people has declined according to a recent LGBT acceptance survey from GLAAD, an LGBT visibility organization. The drop is significant.
From a Huffington Post article on the study:
The survey ― conducted in January 2019 by The Harris Poll, a New York-based research firm ― found that non-LGBTQ adults who said they felt “very” or “somewhat” comfortable in all of those scenarios was 49%, reflecting no change from 2018. For the 18 to 34 demographic, however, that percentage fell from 53% to 45%.
As GLAAD representatives pointed out, 2019 marks the second year in a row that LGBTQ acceptance among Americans aged 18 to 34 has dropped. In 2017, that figure was at 63%. The most striking drop in acceptance appeared among young women, whose comfort level dropped from 64% last year to 52% in the newly published report.
Right-wing rhetoric and activism is blamed as the cause:
In a statement issued Monday, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis linked the two-year decline to “divisive rhetoric both in politics and in culture.”
“Last year, when we saw an erosion in LGBTQ acceptance, GLAAD doubled down on our formula for making positive culture change,” she said.
Though Ellis didn’t cite specifics, GLAAD has reportedly documented more than 40 incidents of anti-LGBTQ hate violence since the start of 2019. Policy setbacks, such as President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military, as well as religious liberty laws that essentially allow businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ customers, were also likely to have an impact, she said.
Blaming the right wing may be confirmation bias. The biggest drop is among young women, generally a liberal, tolerant group. GLAAD, and the LGBT population in general, may want to consider if far-left ideological activism could be at least partially to blame for this drop, rather than Donald Trump’s policies or conservatives views. This would be in the interest of intellectual honesty, self awareness, and exploring all possibilities. There is a general wariness forming of leftist identity politics that dominates LGBT discourse from these organizations and media and on college campuses. Or perhaps, many middle-of-the-road people feel suing people over gay wedding cakes is an overreach or have a problem with young children in drag make-up at adult bars, who allegedly attract the attention of pedophiles.
Gender activism is affecting people in ways that LGB acceptance never demanded that some LGBT people are starting to oppose, even vehemently. Things like pronoun shares before social interactions and allowing more physically powerful MtFs on girls’ sports teams. What LGBT acceptance means has changed a lot to a lot of people in the last 5 years. And more people are becoming aware of extremism in gender ideology and activism that may wind up also negatively impacting homosexuals, as the LGBT moniker is marketed as one population, with one agenda, even though this narrative is false.
Understanding why this is all happening honestly is critical to understanding best ways to create an LGBT supportive environment for young people, who are at risk for bullying and mental health issues. The GLAAD survey as released to the public did not delve into anything illuminating as to why this is happening.