Survey shows sexist attitudes, not support for women, drive bans on transgender athletes
A new poll of 1,000 Americans finds that people with the most negative views of women are also the most likely to back laws barring transgender athletes from women's sports.
In a study of 1,000 U.S. adults, political scientists examined how attitudes toward women relate to support for prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. Roughly 50% of participants backed a bill banning transgender youth from school-sponsored teams matching their gender identity. However, the survey shows that respondents with the lowest feeling-thermometer scores for women—indicating the most negative views—were more likely to support the bans (58%) than those with the highest scores (45%).
Hostile sexist beliefs amplified this effect, with 79% of the most sexist respondents favoring the restrictions versus 28% of the least sexist. Support for Title IX also correlated inversely with ban support. These trends persisted after controlling for party affiliation, ideology, and demographics, suggesting that opposition to transgender participation is linked more to sexism than to a stated desire to protect women’s sports.
Why it matters
The findings challenge the claim that bans on transgender athletes are primarily about protecting women, revealing underlying sexist motives.
In this story
