Although most Americans oppose allowing surgeons to perform sex-change operations on children and teenagers suffering from gender dysphoria and teaching young children about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, many are afraid to speak about such issues due to fear of retribution. Summit Ministries, conducted a poll of 1,000 general election voters between April 22-26 and asked respondents for their views on LGBT issues, specifically the debate about body mutilation surgeries for minors and teaching matters related to sexual orientation and gender identity to young children. One question asked participants to share their “personal opinions about transgenderism,” specifically whether they “believe it is a healthy human condition that should be celebrated” or “do not believe it is a healthy human condition.” Those who selected the latter option had the opportunity to clarify whether they “stay silent on the issue to not offend others” or are “willing to say so.”
A majority of respondents 56% indicated that they do not believe transgenderism is a “healthy human condition.” Twenty-seven percent hold that view and are willing to share it in public, while 29% elect to remain silent about their true beliefs on the issue. Thirty-two percent of Americans characterized transgenderism as a “healthy condition.” An overwhelming majority of those surveyed 78% told pollsters that minors suffering from gender confusion should “be required to wait until they are legal adults” before undergoing life-altering surgeries, such as removing breast tissue and genital mutilation, including removing one’s testicles (an orchidectomy) or severing the penis to create a cavity (a vaginoplasty). By contrast, 9% said gender-confused children “should be encouraged to undergo permanent gender alteration.” Eighty-one percent of respondents supported requiring the disclosure of side effects associated with body mutilation surgeries, while 9% opposed the idea.
The questions about body mutilation surgeries for minors come as some states, including Arizona and Arkansas, have banned the procedures for children due to concerns about their long-term effects. As Florida continues to face pushback from LGBT activists for enacting a law prohibiting school officials from engaging in discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten through third grade, the poll demonstrated opposition to such discussions among the American public. When asked to weigh in on “schools teaching about sexual identity and sexual behaviour with elementary-age children,” 38% of respondents described such instruction as “inappropriate in a school setting,” while an additional 28% said it was “dangerous because it could lead to children being groomed for sexual encounters at a young age.” Slightly more than one-fourth (26%) of participants thought such material was “appropriate in a school setting.”
Besides rural Americans, pluralities of all other subgroups believe that such instruction is “inappropriate.” A plurality of those living in rural areas 40% think teaching children about sexual orientation and gender identity is “dangerous.” Another question asked whether it was “possible to distinguish between men and women.” An overwhelming majority of those surveyed 89% answered in the affirmative, while 7% said “no.” A narrower majority of respondents 53% disagreed with the idea that “a person’s biological sex and their gender are two separate things.” A separate poll conducted by the American Principles Project of voters in battleground states yielded similar findings. The survey found that 56% of respondents residing in battleground states supported laws banning minors from obtaining puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and medicalized gender transition surgeries, while 31% opposed them.
Source: Christian Post
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