LGBTQ Attitudes & Experiences

While eight-in-ten Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say that whether someone is a man or a woman is determined by the sex they were assigned at birth, most Democrats and Democratic leaners (64%) take the opposite view and say a person’s gender can be different from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Gaps between Republicans and Democrats over racial discrimination, immigration and poverty assistance have widened considerably in recent years.

A fact sheet provides an overview of the situation in the nations where same-sex marriage is legal nationwide as well as countries that allow it in certain jurisdictions.

In Pew Research Center polling in 2001, Americans opposed same-sex marriage by a margin of 57% to 35%. Since then, support for same-sex marriage has steadily grown. Based on polling in 2016, a majority of Americans (55%) support same-sex marriage, compared with 37% who oppose it. See the latest data on same-sex marriage.

Americans’ views toward those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) have changed substantially in recent years.

At this year’s annual meeting of the Population Association of America, the nation’s largest demography conference, researchers explored some long-studied topics from new perspectives.

Pew Research Center President Michael Dimock examines the changes – some profound, some subtle – that the U.S. experienced during Barack Obama’s presidency.

While a growing number of LGBT politicians have been elected to public office and attitudes toward the LGBT community have become much more favorable over the past decade, survey data suggest that being gay or lesbian remains an obstacle for candidates running for president.

LGB voters may make up a small share of the U.S. electorate, but they are a deeply Democratic bloc with overwhelmingly negative views of Donald Trump.

Contentious debates have emerged on whether wedding business must offer service to same-sex couples, and over use of public restrooms by transgender people.