HEPI "A BREED APART? WHAT DO YOUNG UNDERGRADUATES THINK OF CONTROVERSIAL AND DIVISIVE ISSUES?"
https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/A-breed-apart-What-do-young-undergraduates-think-of-controversial-and-divisive-issues.pdf
https://www.hepi.ac.uk/reports/a-breed-apart-what-do-young-undergraduates-think-of-controversial-and-divisive-issues/
The data:
https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/A-breed-apart-polling-data.xlsx
p6: Transwomen and transmen
The questions were:
Q6. Do you think that biological males who identify as women should be allowed to use women’s changing rooms?
Question 6: the responses were:
Yes: 31% (male 26%) (female 33%) (16-19 - 29%) (20-21 - 32%)
No: 55% (male 63%) (female 50%) (16-19 - 58%) (20-21 - 53%)
Don't know: 14% (male 11%) (female 17%) (16-19 - 13%) (20-21 - 15%)
Q7. Do you think that biological females who identify as men should be allowed to use men’s changing rooms?
Question 7: the responses were:
Yes: 34% (male 31%) (female 36%) (16-19 - 34%) (20-21 - 35%)
No: 52% (male 58%) (female 47%) (16-19 - 53%) (20-21 - 51%)
Don't know: 14% (male 11%) (female 17%) (16-19 - 13%) (20-21 - 14%)
Comment from the report:
When asked for their views on the changing-room facilities that transwomen and transmen should be expected to use, roughly one-third of students say people should use the changing room assigned to their gender identity while one-half disagree (presumably assuming they should use the facility assigned to their sex at birth or a gender-neutral space). Although we asked about transwomen and transmen separately, the results were similar for these two groups.
In contrast, a 2026 JL Partners poll for Sex Matters found just one-in-five (19%) adults think people ‘should be allowed to use whichever facilities they prefer’. In the same poll, over one-third of respondents said people ‘should use the facilities of their sex at birth’ (36%) and another third said ‘they should not use facilities of the opposite sex but there should be an alternative’ (34%).
These results suggest students may be a little more favourable than the public overall towards those who wish to use the changing facility for their gender rather than the one for their sex at birth – but it is notable that both a majority of students and a majority of the whole adult population pick other options.
Most of the answers from the 18-24 year old age group for the Sex Matters March 2026 research are not far off this.
The question was: A transgender person is someone who says they are the other sex, that is, a person born male who identifies as a woman, or a person born female who identifies as a man. How do you think transgender people should be accommodated in toilets…
They should be allowed to use whichever facilities they prefer (18-24 yr age group responded):
At work - 38%,
In gyms and leisure centres - 30%,
At university - 30%,
In a bar or entertainment venue - 33%,
In public toilets - 30%
In hospital - 30%
# They should not use facilities for the opposite sex but there should be an alternative (18-24 yr age group responded):
At work - 38%,
In gyms and leisure centres - 42%,
At university - 35%,
In a bar or entertainment venue - 32%,
In public toilets - 33%
In hospital - 32%
# They should use the facilities of their sex at birth (18-24 yr age group responded) :
At work - 18%,
In gyms and leisure centres - 21%,
At university - 23%,
In a bar or entertainment venue - 26%,
In public toilets - 28%
In hospital - 28%
Unsure. (18-24 yr age group responded) :
At work - 12%,
In gyms and leisure centres - 12%,
At university - 12%,
In a bar or entertainment venue - 12%,
In public toilets - 12%
In hospital - 11%
I think it is safe to say the majority don't believe that male people should be using female single sex spaces (over the age of about 8 years old, of course). It is a minority who believe this and each year that minority reduces more and more.