According to a survey commissioned by Newsweek that was released earlier in July, nearly half of millennials between the ages of 25-34 believe that misgendering an individual who identifies as transgender should be a criminal offense.
Newsweek released the details of the report they commissioned Redfield & Wilton Strategies to conduct on July 15th, which revealed the alarming sentiment held by 44% of millennials aged between 25-34 where the aforesaid survey respondents agreed with the notion that “referring to someone by the wrong gender pronoun (he/him, she/her) should be a criminal offense.”
For the sake of context, the concept of misgendering occurs when an individual addresses someone by their biologically accurate pronouns in accordance with their sex but the individual addressed harbors a self-proclaimed transgender or nonbinary identity that is at odds with their sex.
Ergo, 44% of millennials believe the aforementioned scenario should result in potential fines and/or jail time for such an individual who doesn’t participate in what Jordan Peterson has aptly referred to as “compelled speech.”
Only 31% of those aged between 25-34 surveyed felt that misgendering shouldn’t be a crime, with the remaining 25% responding either with “neither agree nor disagree” or “don’t know.”
Another surprising revelation courtesy of the survey, which polled a total of 1,500 eligible voters across the United States, was that 38% of individuals aged between 35-44 also feel as though misgendering someone should be illegal.
But what was most intriguing in the survey was the response from Generation Z, with 33% individuals aged between 18-24 feeling that misgendering should be illegal. Despite Gen Z reportedly rendering the largest number of trans-identifying individuals amidst the generational demographics, the same age group is less likely than their millennial elders to assert that misgendering someone should be a criminal offense.
While the younger and even middle aged generations seem more apt to embrace criminalizing dissidence against what many have coined as the “trans ideology,” at least the majority of total respondents to the Newsweek survey don’t believe misgendering a person should be a criminal offense.
According to the total respondents, only 19% believed that misgendering an individual should be a criminal offense, whereas 65% disagreed and the remaining 16% either answered “don’t know” or “neither agree nor disagree.”
Gregory Hoyt is a former contributor to outlets such as Law Enforcement Today and Red Voice Media, and current host of The Breakdown with Greg Hoyt. Based out of Sierra Vista, Arizona, Hoyt is a staunch and outspoken advocate of law enforcement and first responders, while also harboring the unique experience of having spent nearly 5 years in prison. Since then, he's used his unique perspective to offer support and commentary about the criminal justice system. When not working or combating bad ideas, Hoyt also leisurely studies economics, history, and law.