While many polls show that issues relating to sexual minorities diverge sharply by party, less is known about how opinions vary within party groups. New YouGov polling finds that among Democrats, attitudes on the societal acceptance and rights of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people vary significantly based on a person's age, with older people being more likely to say that societal acceptance of these groups hasn't gone far enough, to believe there is a lot of discrimination against them, and to support marriage and adoption rights for them. This may come as a surprise to some, given that younger generations generally hold more liberal views on social issues and are more likely to identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
One recent YouGov survey — conducted January 8 - 9 among nearly 10,000 U.S. adults — asked Americans their opinions on whether society has gone too far or not far enough in accepting people who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual.
Among Americans overall, views are mixed: 33% say societal acceptance has gone too far, 26% say it has not gone far enough, and 26% say it has been about right; 15% are not sure. Democrats (42%) are far more likely than Independents (25%) and Republicans (9%) to say that society has not gone far enough in accepting gay, lesbian, and bisexual people.
A closer look at Democratic opinions — made possible by the survey's large sample — reveals some intriguing differences, particularly by age. Older Democrats are far more likely than younger Democratic adults to say that society has not gone far enough in accepting sexual minorities. The oldest group of Democrats we examined (76 and older) is more than three times as likely as the youngest group (18- to 25-year-olds) to say that acceptance has not gone far enough. The same pattern does not hold for Republicans and Independents, who have similar views within their group at all ages.
Democratic views also diverge along racial lines, with white Democrats being significantly more likely than Black Democrats (52% vs. 26%) to believe that societal acceptance of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people has not gone far enough. The age patterns noted earlier are present among both racial groups, however: Support for greater acceptance is more common among older Democrats than younger ones.
Looking only at adults under 30, opinions of both white and Black Democrats are similar to those of Republicans, with under 25% in each group saying that society hasn't gone far enough in its acceptance. But among older Democrats, views diverge: White Democrats 45 and older (72%) are twice as likely as Black Democrats in the same age group (33%) to say societal acceptance hasn't come far enough. Republicans who are 45 and older are even less likely to say this, with only 8% believing it to be the case.
Another recent survey of 1,000 U.S. adult citizens asked other questions about sexual minorities, including their personal relationships and policy stances. Here, too, we found that older Democrats are more likely than younger Democrats to push for greater acceptance of, and rights for, gay people:
- 72% of Democrats 45 and older vs. 43% of younger Democrats say there is "a lot" of discrimination against people who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual in the U.S. today
- 87% of Democrats 45 and older vs. 56% of younger Democrats say that most people they know personally are very or somewhat accepting of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people
- 82% of Democrats 45 and older vs. 57% of younger Democrats strongly or somewhat support allowing same-sex couples to get married
- 81% of Democrats 45 and older vs. 60% of younger Democrats strongly or somewhat support allowing same-sex couples to adopt children
- 67% of Democrats 45 and older vs. 53% of younger Democrats strongly or somewhat oppose banning public school teachers from discussing sexual orientation
- 87% of Democrats 45 and older vs. 73% of younger Democrats strongly or somewhat oppose banning gay, lesbian, and bisexual people from serving in the military
Age differences aside, Democrats overall are far more likely than Republicans to support rights for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people.
— Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Methodology:
- The Daily Questions survey was conducted online on January 8 - 9, 2024 among 9,898 U.S. adults. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, U.S. census region, and political party.
- The YouGov U.S. News survey was conducted online on January 10 - 17, 2024 among 1,000 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel using sample matching. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty (Alberto Menendez)
