UK families are significantly less supportive of trans or non-binary relatives, YouGov poll finds
A new YouGov survey has revealed the British public’s attitude to trans people (Stock image: Envato)
An overwhelming majority of Brits say they’d support a family member who came out as gay, lesbian or bisexual, but fewer would do so if their relative came out as trans or non-binary.
A new YouGov survey of eight western countries has explored the British public’s attitude to LGBT+ people and how it differs from other nations.
85 per cent of British respondents told YouGov they would be supportive if their child, sibling or close family member came out as lesbian, gay or bisexual, while just 6 per cent would not be supportive. The only country that ranked more highly than the UK was Spain, with 91%.
But when it comes to gender identity people are less certain. Only seven in ten (71 per cent) of British respondents said they would offer the same support to a trans or non-binary relative, and one in eight (12 per cent) answered that they would not be supportive. A further 17 per cent said they were not sure.
The survey found that one in fourteen people (7 per cent) identify as LGBT+ in Britain, while three in ten (31 per cent) are close to someone who does. However, a majority of people (55 per cent) have no personal relation to the LGBT+ community.
YouGov also surveyed people from the United States, Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Denmark. Of those countries, Spain has the highest proportion of people who identify as LGBT+ at 10 per cent.
55 per cent of straight Spaniards have a close relative or friend who is part of the LGBTQ+ community, the survey found, leaving only one in three people with no personal relation to LGBT+ people – a figure significantly lower than Britain’s.
As mentioned above, Spaniards were also the most likely to support a gay, lesbian or bisexual relative (91 per cent) or a trans/non-binary relative (87 per cent), suggesting that familiarity encourages acceptance.
The nation with the highest proportion of citizens with no relation to the LGBT+ community was Sweden as two thirds (65 per cent) admitted they didn’t have a single close friend or family member who is queer.
The lowest levels of support were seen from France, where only 57 per cent say they would be supportive of a LGB family member, as opposed to one in five (19 per cent) who would not.
Just under half of French people (47 per cent) would be supportive if that relative came out as trans or non-binary, while one in four (27 per cent) would not.
85% of Britons would be supportive if a family member came out as lesbian, gay or bisexual. How this compares to different western countries:
?? 91% would be supportive
?? 85%
?? 82%
?? 80%
?? 77%
?? 75%
?? 66%
?? 57%https://t.co/vE7vL3czFA pic.twitter.com/OtVvZ0QN8h— YouGov (@YouGov) August 31, 2021
