Upholding the Cis-stem: How Rates of Transprejudice Differ by Dimension of Social Identity in America

Introduction Over the past five years, anti-transgender laws have swept through state legislatures and courtrooms in the U.S., suggesting transprejudice is salient, and even growing, among many Americans. This article provides empirical evidence about public attitudes on the perceived legitimacy of both non-binary and binary transgender identities—a largely unexplored area of public opinion research. Methods Binary logistic regression analysis is employed with two representative surveys to explore demographic associations with opinion on the cisgender and transgender binary: the 2023 American Values Atlas (AVA) (N=5,294), and the 2022 Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS) (N=1,287). These surveys ask respondents whether they believe in the gender binary as fixed at birth. Results Predicted probabilities and odds ratios indicate that proximity to and identification as a sexual minority, Democratic and liberal political identifications, being a female, having a bachelor’s degree or more, low religious service attendance, and low religious saliency are associated with affirming transgender identities. Conversely, voting for Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election, Republican and conservative political identifications, high religious service attendance, high religious saliency, and evangelical Protestant affiliation are associated with affirming the cisgender binary. Conclusions Expanding on attitudinal research on LGBTQ rights, our results suggest that Americans express transprejudice unevenly, depending on their social identity, especially as it relates to religious and political affiliation. Policy Implications Higher rates of transprejudice across specific demographic groups suggest that some Americans reflect and reaffirm ongoing anti-transgender legislation, while others hold beliefs that challenge such laws.