Support for gender-affirming care, LGBTQ rights is limited in Missouri, new poll shows
As a judge considers whether to block a Missouri law banning gender-affirming care for minors this week, a new poll shows that support for LGBTQ rights in Missouri is relatively limited.
The poll released Wednesday by Saint Louis University and British pollster YouGov found that 63% of those surveyed were against allowing people under 18 to receive hormone therapy or puberty blockers while 24% were in favor of the treatment.
It also showed that 73% were against someone younger than 18 receiving gender-affirming surgeries, which are rare despite being a major focus in the legislative debate surrounding gender-affirming care. And 14% said they were in favor.
But, the poll showed, Missourians were split when asked about gender-affirming counseling, with 44% in favor and 44% against.
The poll illustrated that Missourians’ support for gender-affirming care, while low, was nuanced with more people willing to support gender-affirming counseling than hormone therapy or the less common gender-affirming surgeries. The survey is the state’s first in-depth look at Missourians’ support of gender-affirming care in the wake of a raft of proposed anti-LGBTQ legislation this year.
“There’s more hesitation to support these gender affirming surgeries or discussion of gender identity issues,” said Steve Rogers, an associate professor of political science at Saint Louis University who directed the poll. “But then one thing that we were able to show within this poll is that there’s some refinement to it.”
The survey of 900 likely Missouri voters was conducted between July 27 and Aug. 8. It has a margin of error of 4.02%.
The release of the poll comes as a St. Louis judge is expected to decide this week whether to halt Missouri’s new restrictions on gender-affirming care before they go into effect on Monday. The law bans gender transition surgeries on minors and imposes a moratorium on hormone therapy and puberty blockers until 2027 unless the patients are already receiving the medications.
Missouri lawmakers this year considered a bevy of legislation aimed at the LGBTQ community, stoking fear among transgender Missourians and prompting some to consider leaving the state.
Heidi Schultz, a transgender woman from Kansas City, told The Star before the release of the poll that the onslaught of legislation aimed at the LGBTQ community has caused unnecessary stress.
“The chance that any given person in Missouri knows a transgender person is pretty rare, let alone has an opinion about our rights,” she said. “It’s just like this unnecessary ratcheting up of negativity for a very small return on investment, but it’s done to distract from the real problems.”
The poll found that 67% of those surveyed were against allowing transgender student athletes from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity, signaling some support for the state’s new ban on trans athletes. It found that 18% were in favor of allowing trans athletes to compete on teams that match their identity.
The results showed that while a majority of Missourians — 56% — are in favor of legalized same-sex marriage, support was not overwhelming with 34% still opposed and 10% unsure.
The poll also asked voters to weigh in on a host of other LGBTQ issues, including discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools. It found that support for LGBTQ discussions increased as the age of the student population increased.
At the elementary school level, 69% of respondents said they were against discussions on sexual orientation, while 18% said they were in favor. And 71% said they were against discussions of gender identity in elementary schools, while 19% were in favor.
Support increased slightly at the middle school level, with 54% saying they were opposed to discussions on sexual orientation while 38% said they were in favor. And 59% were against discussions on gender identity in middle schools while 34% were in favor.
Support for LGBTQ topics was highest at the high school level, with 56% saying they support discussions on sexual orientation in high school while 35% were opposed. And 51% were in favor of discussions on gender identity in high schools while 40% were opposed.
The poll also found that Missourians were largely against book bans related to the LGBTQ community, as some lawmakers have targeted school book content. It showed that 54% of respondents opposed bans on books with stories about gay or lesbian youth while 33% were in favor.
And, according to the poll, 49% opposed a ban on books with stories about transgender youth while 38% were in favor.
“Will a majority of voters support gender-affirming surgery for minors tomorrow? No way,” Rogers said. “But there are differences amongst the things that we’re talking about when we’re talking about gender identity or sexual orientation.”
