Half of all Americans believe the US has gone too far in allowing male, trans-identified athletes to compete in women’s sports while an overwhelming number oppose providing gender transition surgery and drugs to children suffering from gender dysphoria.
That’s according to a recent New York Times/Ipsos poll of 2,128 American adults.
It was taken before the inauguration of President Donald Trump who has since moved very quickly to sign executive orders to enforce the views of the majority of American people on these issues.
When asked if they agreed that: “Society has gone too far in accommodating transgender people,” 49% of the poll respondents answered in the affirmative.
Only 21% agreed with a statement declaring that “Society has not gone far enough in accommodating transgender people”
Another 28% believed that “Society has reached a reasonable balance when it comes to accommodating transgender people.”
When asked if trans-identified male athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports, the vast majority of respondents (79%) believed they shouldn’t be allowed to.
The opposition stemmed mainly from concerns about fairness for female athletes.
Efforts to ban trans-identified males from competing in women’s sports have been buoyed by reports of biological male athletes shattering women’s sports records.
Twenty seven US states have already moved to ban transgender athletes from women’s sport.
When pressed for their thoughts about allowing doctors to prescribe puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones to youth, a vast majority of poll respondents (71%) agreed that minors shouldn’t have access to drugs that will stop their natural growth and deform their bodies.
Meanwhile, opposition to the prescription of blockers and hormones was motivated by concerns about their long-term impacts.
The American College of Pediatricians has listed potential side effects of puberty blockers as “osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment and, when combined with cross-sex hormones, sterility.”
The College has warned that cross-sex hormones can cause “an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots and cancers across their lifespan.”
Twenty four US states have implemented measures to ban medicalised gender transitions for minors under 18, which includes prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones as well as irreversible surgeries.
