In its most recent monthly global survey, Global Advisor, Ipsos studied attitudes towards transgender people. Data was collected between October 24 and November 7, 2017 in Argentine, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Ecuador, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the US.
For the purposes of this summary write-up, however, Ipsos has chosen to focus on findings from the 16 countries where internet penetration is sufficiently high to feel confident that the data is truly nationally representative (and it is weighted as such therein): Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United States, according to Ipsos.
Protecting transgender people: A strong majority of people around the world would like their country to do more to support and protect transgender people (60%), with those in Spain (70%) and Argentina (67%) most likely to agree. Poland (39%), Hungary, and Japan (both 41%) are least likely to agree. A slim majority of respondents in the United States (51%) and France (52%) would like to see their country do more to protect and support transgender individuals. People around the world are more likely to say they believe their government needs to protect transgender people from discrimination (70%), with a majority of every country in the nationally representative markets agreeing (Argentina (84%) is most likely to agree, Poland (51%) is least likely to agree).
Pronoun Usage: Ipsos asked people who lived in English speaking countries about pronoun usage. About two in five reported they would use a person's preferred gender pronouns, while approximately one in five would use a gender neutral pronoun and two in five would insist on using the pronouns of the sex assigned at birth. Americans reported they are most likely to misgender someone intentionally (22%), with Australia reporting approximately 14%, Canada at 14% and Great Britain approximately 12%.
Tolerating us: 6 in 10 people interviewed worldwide (59%) believe their country is becoming more tolerant of transgender people, led by Argentina (78%), Canada (78%) and Great Britain (78%). Americans reported at 71% (but didn't say they necessarily approved of it), while Sweden reported at 73% and Australia at 71%. People in Hungary (31%), Poland (41%), and Japan (43%) are least likely to report that their country is becoming more tolerant of transgender people.
In addition to a growing tolerance, a majority of people (60%) in these countries believe that transgender people are brave. People in Spain (74%), Argentina (70%), and Great Britain (69%) are most likely to agree with the sentiment that transgender people are brave, while those in Japan (38%) and Hungary (48%) are least likely to agree with this statement. A majority of people in the United States also believe that transgender people are brave (57%).
Given the range of (mis)perceptions that exist about transgender people, Ipsos and BuzzFeed, in discussion with the Williams Institute, developed a series of questions in 2016 designed to better understand how people perceive and understand the concept and emergence of transgender individuals.
Fifty-two recent of respondents believe that transgender people are a natural occurrence, a belief most popular in Spain (64%) and Germany (60%), while least popular in Hungary (44%), Italy (45%) and Japan (48%).
Just 11% of Italians believe transgender people have some form of mental illness, while (43%) of Hungarians believe we do.
Among western countries, the United States is most likely to believe that transgender people have a mental illness (32%) and the most likely out of all countries surveyed to believe that transgendered people are committing a sin (32%).
That would be irrespective of any of their other behaviors...just being transgender is a sin.
Americans are the most likely to say that society has gone too far in allowing people to dress and live as one sex even though they were born another (36%), while people in Japan are least likely to agree with this sentiment (9%).
