U.S. News
Transgender Identification Falls Sharply among Young Adults
Clear Facts
- Surveys show a sharp decline in young adults identifying as transgender or non-binary.
- Trans identification among 18- to 22-year-olds was nearly cut in half from 2022 to 2024.
- Psychologists suggest changing social acceptance and labeling trends may influence these numbers.
Recent surveys indicate a significant drop in the number of young adults identifying as transgender or non-binary in the United States. Data from multiple nationally representative surveys support this trend, showing a steep decline within only two years.
Eric Kaufman at the University of Buckingham highlighted that the percentage of college students identifying as a gender other than male or female has decreased by half since 2022.
Jean Twenge of San Diego State University backed these findings by analyzing the Household Pulse survey and the Cooperative Election Study from 2021 to 2024. Trans identification among 18- to 22-year-olds was found to be almost half of previous levels, while non-binary identification dropped by more than half between 2023 and 2024.
“The Household Pulse data showed a decline in trans ID among 18- to 22-year-olds in 2024, but I was cautious about drawing conclusions from it, as the decline appeared only in a limited time period (July to September 2024) — and two of the three survey administrations added an option for non-binary identification that wasn’t there before,” Twenge wrote.
The Cooperative Election Study found similar results, with noticeably fewer young adults now choosing non-binary or transgender as their identification. Twenge noted that previous increases in transgender identification did not include older Americans, suggesting recent shifts are more concentrated among the young.
“When I looked at adults of all ages in the survey … I found a huge increase in identifying as transgender from those born before 1980 (Gen X and Boomers) to those born in the early 2000s (who are now 21 to 25 years old),” Twenge stated.
“Identifying as transgender then declined, especially for those born in 2005 and 2006 (who are now 18 to 20 years old).”
Asked about the reasons behind these drops, Twenge pointed to changing levels of social acceptance and comfort with labels. She said, “One possibility is changes in acceptance; as acceptance increased, more young adults identified as transgender and/or were willing to identify as transgender in a survey. When acceptance declined, identifying as transgender (or at least identifying as transgender on a survey) declined.”
Twenge clarified that identifying as transgender and identifying as non-binary are separate, noting different questions were used in the surveys.
Eric Kaufman welcomed Twenge’s study, saying, “It was good to see that mainstream academic generation researchers are following up. Her data very much reinforces what I found using FIRE, Brown and Andover Phillips data.”
He added, “I think the question now is not if trans is in decline, but how far it will fall — and what the implications will be for the cultural progressive project, and for trends in gender surgery and diagnosis.”
Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert believes this trend may be a “natural correction.” According to him, “For a while, we taught young people to over-interpret every feeling. Therapy culture told them that every discomfort needed a label or diagnosis.”
Alpert explained that some young people may be moving away from the idea that every difference requires a new identity. “So, in essence, it’s the performance that’s slowing down — at least in what this study showed,” he said.
Stay informed as these societal shifts continue to unfold and impact younger generations. For readers devoted to traditional values, this data provides important insights into evolving cultural trends.
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