Apparently Pew Research Center didn't want to be left behind in the transgender race, so Sara Kehaulani Goo dug up a survey from 2013 and spelunked in the data contained therein.
The online survey interviewed 1197 self-identified LGBT adults, of which 43 identified as transgender (3.6%). Forty percent of respondents identified as bisexual, 33.2% identified as gay men, and 23.1% were lesbians.
As often happens, all transgender respondents were apparently excluding from the other groups, under the apparent assumption that transgender people do not have sexual orientations (actually, a footnote acknowledges that transgender people might also be gay or lesbian).
The survey found that 16% of the respondents were married, most of whom were bisexual. 93% of the respondents favored marriage equality, compared with 51% of the general public at that time.
46% of the respondents said that obtaining legal rights and benefits was a very important reason to marry, as compared to 23% of the general public which identified that reason (which displays the nature of heterosexual privilege). The general public was more likely to say that having children was a very important reason to marry (49%, compared to 28% of the respondents).
Goo discovered, of course, that the sample of transgender respondents was too small to generate statistically significant findings, but a few items floated to the top.
Most of the transgender respondents first felt their gender was different before puberty.
For many, being transgender is a core part of their overall identity, even if they may not widely share this fact about themselves with many people in their lives.
This process is difficult. Most people know me one way, and to talk to them about a different side of me can be disconcerting. I have not told most people because of my standing in the community and my job, which could be in jeopardy.
--transgender woman, 44
Some transgender people spoke about the past.
We mostly tried to conform and simply lived two lives at once. The stress caused a very high suicide rate and a higher rate of alcohol addiction (somehow I was spared both).
--transgender man, 77, speaking about life in the 30s
Nowadays younger transgender people are often coming out on Facebook or in instant messages.
The overall group of LGBT respondents unfortunately said that they could not relate to transgender people. Only 15% of gay men, 11% of lesbians and 12% of bisexuals said they had "a lot" in common with transgender adults.
Additionally, the respondents were asked which of the subgroups were accepted. 33% of the respondents stated that bisexual women were accepted a lot, and 45% said that bisexual women were accepted some. Only 21% thought that bisexual women were accepted only a little or not at all.
Twenty-five percent of respondents thought lesbians were accepted a lot, 60% thought lesbians were accepted some and 14% stated that lesbians were accepted only a little or not at all.
15% of respondents stated that gay men were accepted a lot, while 56% stated that gay men were accepted some and 27% said that gay men were accepted only a little or not at all.
Only 8% of respondents thought that bisexual men were accepted a lot, while 44% thought bisexual men were accepted a little and 46% said bisexual men were accepted only a little or not at all.
And then there are the transgender people: Only three percent of the LGBT people thought that transgender people were accepted a lot and only 15% thought that transgender people were accepted a little, while 80% of the LGBT respondents thought that transgender people were accepted only a little or not at all.
It’s been hard and very cleansing at the same time to tell friends. The hardest part is telling old friends because they’ve known you for so long as your born gender, but most people are willing to change for you if they care enough.
--transgender man, 27
Pew currently has a page up inquiring about
coming out experiences
Telling people has always ended badly. The few people whom I have told were told because I felt it was worth it to work through all the agony of misunderstandings that would inevitably ensue. And that's how it happens. I tell someone. They react. Usually they start treating me like I'm a stranger and a stereotype, instead of a person whom they've known for a long time. And then I spend the next few months trying to get things back to normal, so I avoid telling people. And some people I've told just couldn't handle it. So now there's that, too. Even if I want to tell someone because I feel they need to know, I have to stop and wonder, what if this person is one of the ones that can't handle it? Why do I keep losing people? Why do I have to be so alone? So don't tell people. Just pretend to be normal. Try to get people to understand without putting yourself out there. Then maybe tell them once you're sure they won't murder the friendship.
--transgender person, 26