Acceptance of Transgender People?

Critical Analysis

1. According to the data from the graph above, what percent of Americans surveyed say that acceptance of people who are transgender is generally very good for society?

2. Overall, based on the data in the graph above, what conclusion can you draw about American public opinion regarding the acceptance of people who are transgender?

3. Why do you think Americans are divided on this issue?

4. When you look at demographics and opinion on acceptance of people who are transgender (see below*), what group is the most supportive of people who are transgender and what group is the least supportive of people who are transgender?

5. Why do you think party plays such a big difference in opinion on the issue of acceptance of people who are transgender?

6. Based on your knowledge of American political history and the data from the chart below* (see the section on age and opinion), how do you think public opinion on this issue will change over the next 20 years?

7. Imagine the President wanted to signal to the country that he was accepting of trans people. Describe some things a president could do to send that message.

8. A wedge issue is a divisive (often cultural) political issue, especially one that is raised by a candidate for public office in hopes of attracting or alienating an opponent's supporters. Wedge politics involves treating Aristotle’s “Law of the Excluded Middle” as universal. If one side of an issue is right, then the other must be wrong—there is no in-between. Controversial topics like abortion, gun control, masking, or confederate statues are polarizing, forcing people to choose a side, for or against. Voters may feel debates about wedge issues leave no room for nuance. But wedge issues, despite sometimes annoying the electorate, have proven to effectively galvanize support in a two party system. Explain whether you believe transgender issues will be used as a wedge in the 2022 midterm election.

9. Democrats who know a trans person are more likely to say greater social acceptance is good (69% vs. 50% of those who do not know a trans person) and less likely to say it’s bad (10% vs. 16%) or neither good nor bad (21% vs. 33%). Why do you think knowing a trans person changes opinion on this issue?

10. A total of 10,221 people answered questions in the survey data shown in the graph above. What does that sample size tell you about the validity of this public opinion survey?

Learning Extension

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Visual Extension*