Most Britons say that schools should teach about different gender identities

[IwantToRetire]

The results suggest around three in ten Britons don’t want teaching about gender identity issues to take place in school: 29% said that schools should not teach that people can be transgender / change their gender identity, and 31% said they should not tell children that people can be non-binary / identify as a gender other than male or female.

Among parents of a child younger than 18, around a quarter (25-26%) say these subjects should not be covered. The views of parents across the study closely mirror those of the wider public.

Across all groups, the biggest differences are on gender identity topics. Women, younger people, and Labour voters are notably more likely to say that transgender and non-binary identities should be covered in sex education than their male, older and Tory voting counterparts.

Men and women don’t tend to differ much on most other topics, although women (81%) are slightly more likely to say that sexual identity should be taught in school than men (74%).

The results show that there is only one topic that men (71%) are more noticeably likely than women (65%) to say should be included in sex education: explicit discussions of sexual acts.

YouGov Survey Results
Sample Size: 2003 GB Adults
Fieldwork: 15th - 16th May 2024

More detailed responses and charts at https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/49445-should-pupils-be-taught-about-gender-identity-in-schools

(NB this is not the same as the YouGov chat survey where a self selected group answered an online survey https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5076134-government-tells-schools-to-teach-biological-sex-and-contest-gender-ideology-do-you-support-this-yougov-daily-survey)

other surveys I’ve received I have found that the options are ambiguous. I have complained about that to them before.

eg should the government do something about small boats.

I put yes as I believe these people should be helped then realised too late I’ll be lumped with the stop the boats brigade. That was the only answer I could opt for as it was so ambiguous.

I made a comment at the end clarifying my answer.

Yougov mandate their participants to state their gender identity to register - therefore anything they say on gender identity is 100% flawed! End of.

'Gender identity' has no place in schools. Fetishes and fantasies need to be kept well away from children.

The clue is surely in the name - SEX education. I don't think identity should come into it at all. It would be better taught alongside RE if anything! It basically is a new religion.

Or you could teach it alongside philosophy to show how the 'doctrine' is completely illogical, and students would then learn about logic at the same time.

2003 people is by less than 0.0001% of the population.

The issue is, there could be (is likely to be) diversity of ideas within those who voted for 'the same thing'.

Someone might want gender identity taught in schools because it is a phenomenon impacting on lots of people and they want schools to help children handle the complexity. These same people might want 'sex acts' to be discussed in order to support young people to be able to make informed decisions if/when they encounter difficult situations relating to this.

Others might be wanting to completely normalise all sorts of contested issues, presenting them as simple and fine.

I don't think surveys that explore these sorts of issues capture the diversity of views that exist

To be honest I don’t really mind if secondary aged kids are taught about different gender identities, as long as changing sex isn’t presented as a real thing; and the concept of gender is taught as an example of a belief system, not an actual spectrum.

'Teaching about gender' could be explaining that society tends to put labels on what's boyish and what's girly, but we don't agree with that, do we children? NO we believe you should be what you want to be, play how you want to play, aspire to be whatever you want to be, whether you are a little boy or a little girl. You don't have to change anything, you don't have to stop being a boy or a girl, and don't let anybody tell you there's anything wrong with what you are.

I wouldn't have any objections to a 'lots of gender identities but only two non-interchangeable sexes' approach. It takes the wind out of the sails of a trans or non-binary ID, doesn't it, why bother if you can be any kind of little boy, or any kind of little girl?

these questions are always so poorly worded
like a PP when they ask is immigration an important issue for you- yes it is, I want everyone treated with dignity and respect regardless of where they come from or how they got here
'sex education' should be for all children at all ages, starting with naming body parts and teaching bodily autonomy and going on to discuss attraction, consent, sexuality- with puberty, reproduction and sexual health on the way.
'gender identity' shouldn't be taught as a 'fact' but rather as a 'some people believe that...'
little children only need to know that families come in all shapes and sizes- 2 mums, one dad, mum+dad, etc etc - around puberty is the time to mention that some people are attracted to the opposite sex, some to their own sex and some to both, all fine and normal.
to me this is all so basic but I feel schools have got into a total mess with this because so many teachers are squeamish/ill informed and are happy to hand over these so-called tricky topics to outsiders. I used to be a supply teacher in primary and remember advising a Y6 teacher who was mortified at the prospect of saying 'penis' in front of the class.

Good post

I'm gender critical and I don't believe that anyone can change their biological sex. I think that "gender" doesn't really exist and is a social construct based entirely on stereotypes about the different sexes.

That said, I have no issue with children being taught about the concept of gender in schools, as long as it isn't taught as fact. I think it's fine to say that some people believe in this idea of gender and others don't. That some people experience gender dysphoria, and that there are different beliefs about why this happens and how those people should best be supported. That, while it is important for everyone to be kind and inclusive, there are also times when the needs and wants of different groups may clash.

To be honest, I would far rather that kids are taught about these different perspectives in the classroom so that they can develop a proper critical understanding of the issues, than leave them vulnerable to being exposed to more one sided perspectives online.

The YouGov survey asked if children should be taught these subjects at a "certain age". The government proposal was for age-appropriate sex education, and no different to the age-appropriate sex education Florida bill (that the media deliberately misinterpreted as "don't say gay" bill).

I just think it's wrong that children (and there have been cases of this) are being asked to pick what gender identity and sexual orientation they are. Anyone who is experiencing homosexual attraction knows that they don't want to be outed or railroaded down a certain path before they are ready.

Hmmm. I get Yougov surveys on an almost daily basis,but I've never seen this one. Maybe because I've put comments in in the past,about their poorly worded questions and answers.

What about this?

Sex can be used to mean ‘having sexual intercourse’ (cue silence/squirming/laughter), or whether you are male or female.
Because the word ‘sex’ has got 2 meanings, the term ‘gender’ was often on many forms as it was the polite form of saying what sex you were.

The meaning of gender has changed and it’s confusing, as some people still use it to mean what sex you are.
Other people use ‘gender’ to mean how a female or male fit into a stereotype of what they think society thinks a woman should be like or a man should be like. Since how you feel/wear/have interests in changes throughout your life, or even day to day, gender isn’t something so objective and easily definable like what sex you are. Your self-defined gender can be on a scale of how much you feel like you fit the ever-changing stereotype of what sex you are.

If people believe in lots of different genders and/or want to swap then it’s a belief system like a religion or ideology. Gender ideology shares many similarities to religion and people can get devoted to it. They make up symbols, flags and form communities and lots of identities. It has rules and people who don’t believe are not welcome or sometimes believers try to convert them. It makes believers feel happy that they are part of a community. And like all religions, because it makes believers happy, non-believers often feel awkward discussing why they don’t believe as they don’t want to make people who have found happiness, unhappy.

A transman is a woman who wants to be known as a man. A transwoman is a man who wants to be known as a woman.

So nowdays ‘gender’ is not the same as which sex you are. Sex cannot change. Society can not change it. Boys/Men can do and wear what they want, they will still be boys/men. Girls/Women can do and wear what they want, they will still be girls/women. That is biologically and medically correct.

There is a Gender Recognition Certificate a few people apply for, usually as a result of the distress of feeling they are the wrong sex. It means they can write what they feel their gender is in the ‘sex’ category. They can only apply to be recognised as male or female. They have not changed sex but it can be treated as such in some legal and administrative situations.

I think it needs to be taught for what it is. Otherwise social media fills the gap in knowledge.

Does sexual identity = gender identity or sexual orientation?

Agree, they could all be basement dwelling incels for all they know. Probably most parents of school aged children will be too busy to do crap like this.

I think the sample size is ok.
The skulduggery lies in the questions and the reporting of them.

The YouGov polls offer rubbish remuneration. It’s 50p for a survey that takes 15 minutes and they only pay out once you earned £50. I sometimes do them because I feel like someone somewhere might be actually be paying attention but I can imagine that many demographic groups are excluded simply because their priorities don’t include exchanging 15 mins of their precious time for 50p.

Well that's what I calculated and just thought I must have forgotten how to calculate %s!

For those saying how were the questions asked, if you go to the link in the OP that web page has a link to the actual questions and a complete breadkdown of answers for each question.

The age surveyed people though the subjects should be taught are here: