GLAAD reports that support for LGBTQ+ equality has decreased in the U.S.A.
August 19, 2024Support for LGBTQ+ equality in the U.S.A. remains strong, although negative rhetoric is affecting perceptions, according to the latest GLAAD “Accelerating Acceptance” study released on Thursday.
There is still a significant majority supporting equal rights for LGBTQ+ individuals, at 80 percent, though this has decreased from the record high of 84 percent reported last year, according to ‘Advocate’.
“This should not come as a surprise,” wrote GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in the introduction of the study. “Extremist politicians, unchecked and enabled in the media — including social media — have relentlessly targeted LGBTQ people with harmful legislative proposals and disinformation campaigns. The same lawmakers and extremist judges targeting abortion access, contraception, immigration, voting rights, and free speech, are using the same strategies of fear and disinformation.”
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This year, over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced across various states, she pointed out. “While the vast majority never make it to law, public debate over a person’s humanity and rights have real-world consequences,” Ellis noted. For instance, the latest FBI hate-crimes report recorded a 19 percent increase in anti-LGBTQ+ crimes and a 35 percent rise in anti-transgender crimes compared to the previous year.
“Fortunately, the data points to proven ways to keep expanding and accelerating acceptance,” she added. “When Americans see us, living authentically in our communities and included accurately in news and entertainment stories, they recognize how our rights to be ourselves and belong are the same as any American’s, and worth fighting alongside us to achieve.”
Among the positive findings in the study: 95 percent of non-LGBTQ+ respondents believe schools should be safe and accepting for all youth, and 93 percent agree that children should be taught to appreciate and accept others as they are. Additionally, 91 percent believe LGBTQ+ people should live their lives free from fear, and 89 percent think LGBTQ+ people should be free from discrimination.
Eighty-two percent of non-LGBTQ+ respondents indicated they would support a friend or family member who came out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, while 77 percent said they would support one who came out as transgender or nonbinary. However, on average, fewer than 30 percent said they personally know someone who is LGBTQ+.
Furthermore, young LGBTQ+ individuals reported more discrimination than older generations. Seventy percent of Gen Z LGBTQ+ individuals reported facing discrimination based on gender identity, an increase from 57 percent in the 2023 study, and 54 percent experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation, up from 49 percent the previous year. These figures were lower for millennials, Gen Xers, and Baby Boomers.
Media representations can help counteract anti-LGBTQ+ bias, but the percentage of respondents encountering such content declined slightly from the previous year. Sixty-three percent of non-LGBTQ+ respondents reported exposure to LGBTQ+ content in advertising, down from 67 percent last year, and 72 percent encountered it in TV and movies, a decrease from 76 percent in 2023.
Personal interactions had the greatest positive influence on non-LGBTQ+ individuals, followed by representations in entertainment media. The most negative influence came from portrayals or news on social media, with news coverage being the second most negative.
The study was conducted online in January with a national sample of 2,511 U.S.A. adults aged 18 or older, using a sample sourced by Cint, which has the world’s largest consumer network for digital survey-based research. The data were weighted to ensure the results represent the 18+ U.S.A. population.
“GLAAD’s 2024 Accelerating Acceptance Study arrives at a monumental inflection point for the LGBTQ community and for our entire country,” Ellis stated in a press release. “While acceptance for LGBTQ people remains at supermajority levels, the data this year also sounds substantial alarms about threats to this progress and to freedoms valued by every American. The same extremist lawmakers, judges and media sources targeting abortion access, contraception, free and fair elections, and free speech, are using the same strategies of fear and disinformation to undermine LGBTQ people and our equality. Fortunately, the data also points to proven ways to keep expanding and accelerating acceptance. Our study shows that more non-LGBTQ people have been inspired to speak up for LGBTQ equality as a result of accurate news coverage, and voters have shown up in election after election to reject extremist candidates and their anti-trans campaigns. GLAAD’s Accelerating Acceptance Study should continue to inspire and empower all of us to rise up and speak out for everyone’s freedom to be themselves. Our safety, our collective success, and the future of our democracy depend on it.”
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