I have some left-wing viewpoints and some right-wing viewpoints – I’ve never fitted neatly into one camp or the other – happily, as it doubles the amount of arguments I can have lol. It’s not just about the individual’s rights, and nor should it be. Some things are major life decisions and/or have a legal dimension and implications for other people, so it’s right and proper that there should be important questions asked and some legal hoops to jump through. But to change your legal gender should not be too easy, surely, just like getting married or getting a passport or a driver’s license should not be too easy. And people already have the freedom to dress and call themselves what they want to, under existing law. Activists may desire that situation, but the law and wider society cannot afford to.Īnother point is – why should becoming trans be made easier? Why self-ID? Anyone with true gender dysphoria, or who wants enough to transition, can do so already. ![]() And yet we asked (or told) to agree that the term “trans” should cover all those very different categories and grant the same rights to all. And on the evidence of Scotland, the more they are exposed to the arguments the clearer that view becomes.Īs others have said, part of the confusion here is the (partly deliberate) blurring of the lines between someone fully transitioned, in the process of fully transitioning, or just deciding that they’re another gender, possibly on a whim or for ulterior motives. Taken as a whole, there seems to be a majority of voters coming to a nuanced position on this issue: supportive of people who wish to identify as a different gender, but sharply defensive of women-only spaces and sports. Every other constituency tends to oppose the idea, including all Scottish constituencies. There is only one constituency in Britain which is estimated to agree with the proposition (Manchester Central) and one that is equally split (Liverpool Riverside). Fully 57% of people disagree, with only 22% agreeing. Most decisively, on the question of whether “transgender women should be allowed to take part in women’s sporting events”, voters have come to a settled view. The result in Scotland underscores the political risk to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of her Gender Recognition Bill. In total, 45% of Scottish voters oppose the idea compared with 32% who support it. Whereas taken as a whole population, Scotland is only slightly more trans-sceptical than England and Wales (31% of Scottish people strongly disagree with the proposition about women-only spaces, compared with 28% in Wales and 27% in England), those areas in strongest disagreement are almost all in Scotland. Most of the 53 constituencies that support the idea contain city centres and student towns, while all but one of the top 10 most opposed constituencies are in Scotland. Asked whether “transgender women should be allowed to use spaces reserved for women, such as women’s toilets or changing rooms”, 33% agree and 42% disagree. Once you start asking about specific policies and impacts, the results move in a decidedly more sceptical direction. More than any other demographic factor it is age that drives opinion on this issue, with 50% of 18-24-year-olds agreeing compared to only 28% of those aged 65 or older. ![]() The map of constituencies across the country on this last question reveals a broad rural-urban divide, with urban areas, along with historically liberal rural areas such as the South West of England, agreeing with the statement. Overall, 37% agree, 33% disagree, and 30% don’t know. And when asked if they agreed with the statement that “it should be made easier for transgender people to change their legal gender”, voters are also undecided. When, in a separate poll for UnHerd Britain, respondents were presented with the more philosophical claim that “transwomen are women”, it resulted in an unusually high degree of confusion: 33% agreed, 33% disagreed and 34% were unsure. Even voters aged 65+ tend to agree, as well as Conservative Party and Brexit Party voters. Every single constituency in Britain agrees with the statement. Asked whether “people should be able to identify as being of a different gender from the one they had recorded at birth”, 52% of British voters agree and only 24% disagree. The first thing confirmed by the data is that there is a bedrock of goodwill and understanding towards transpeople.
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