Transgender issues are a highly divisive topic but both parties seem to agree that when it comes to doing anything about them, politicians should make it less of a priority than most other things.
According to a new poll by "The 19th*" and Survey Monkey, various hot-topic issues were asked about such as abortion, transgenderism, and gender-affirming care. While the findings say that an overwhelming majority approve of the gender-bending trend, it tends to lose staying power the closer the issue drifts to Washington or children:
- Both abortion and gender-affirming care for adults have widespread support. A majority of Americans (63%) think abortion should be legal in all (30%) or most (33%) cases, and more than half (57%) favor the rights of transgender adults to access gender-affirming care, though significantly fewer (39%) support gender-affirming care for minors. Most think that politicians are not informed enough about abortion (70%) and gender-affirming care for minors (72%) to create fair policies.
- Americans would prefer that politicians either protect transgender people or not focus on transgender issues at all. Only 17% say politicians should focus on restricting gender-affirming care, while 44% say politicians should not focus on transgender issues, and 33% say they should focus on protecting trans people. Republicans in particular don’t want their politicians focusing on transgender issues; 58% say so, compared with 49% of Independents and 32% of Democrats.
To be clear, these numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. The 19th* appears to be a left-leaning organization focusing on women's rights and gender politics. It's biased toward women and its inclusion of writers and staff that come from leftist rags like Mother Jones. According to the site, it takes its name from the 19th Amendment but adds an asterisk to its name to indicate that "suffrage remains a work in progress for many in this country, particularly people living in states where voter suppression exists and tens of thousands of transgender Americans who face barriers to voting."
Their clear bias toward the hard left makes some of these findings all the more peculiar, namely that the people they interviewed didn't want politicians doing anything about transgender issues for the most part. Moreover, it's interesting how they couched it.
"Most think that politicians are not informed enough about abortion (70%) and gender-affirming care for minors (72%) to create fair policies," it read.
Odd. Given the partnership abortion organizations have with the Democrat Party and the way they advertise for one another through endless activism, you'd think there would be a tidal wave of single-issue voters crashing against the voting booths to pull the lever for Democrats.
But they want everyone to stay away from the issue, and at a time when Roe v. Wade's death is still fresh on the minds of many and right in the midst of many states banning "gender-affirming care" for minors?
Something's off here, and I suspect it's the 19th*'s rationalization for these numbers.
If I were to guess, I'd say the reason the people think politicians should stay away from these issues, particularly transgenderism, is because they hardly top the list of concerns for the people. Even abortion registers at only five percent, according to their own survey, and transgenderism didn't make the list at all.
In fact, sitting at the top of the list is "Inflation and the cost of living" at a whopping 36 percent, with "Jobs, unemployment, and wages" trailing in second at 10 percent.
Moreover, their questions about gender-affirming care for minors can be interpreted differently from person to person. It does not point specifically to a certain ideological position or action taken, just whether or not people think politicians are informed enough to make decisions about it. It's a messy question that likely got a messy answer.
Either way, it would appear people played it safe and made it clear that politicians should probably not touch it.
The question is, if Democrats are paying attention to this, will they do as they're told and back off the issue?
If they do, then the transgender community has to ask itself if the Democrats truly care about them like they say they do, or if they're just more concerned about their jobs and are willing to use transgenderism as a prop when it's politically expedient.
Democrats have already done this once before. The moment it becomes more beneficial to be pro-woman, the Democrat Party will drop the transgender community to better promote the "Party of Women" narrative. The Democrats suddenly remembering what a woman was upon the death of Roe v. Wade is a good example of this.
The transgender community should probably brace itself for disappointment this election season, but they shouldn't worry. They'll be paid attention to once they become politically viable as an issue again.