Results from the General Social Survey (GSS) show a remarkable swing in how Americans feel about same-sex relationships. The disapproval rate has tumbled dramatically as public opinion has turned in favor of gay people.
“This isn’t perfect, but it’s such amazing progress. Easily the biggest cultural win since civil rights,” one person posted on X (formerly Twitter) with a picture of a graph showing the disapproval rate’s decline.
Every generation’s disapproval rating declined except for Gen Z and younger, although that generation was still the most accepting. One user pointed out why.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our daily newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
“It should be noted that the GSS implemented a methodological change in 2022 that caused them to get a radically more conservative sample of young people,” they said.
And, indeed, the survey’s demographics show that they have indeed courted a much more conservative sample of young men starting in 2022.
“I think one of the biggest emergencies in our society right now is that gen-z boys are falling down hard right political pipelines,” one respondant pointed out to suggest another reason why more Gen Z respondents expressed disapproval than previously. “Girls continue to follow general generational trends of becoming more and more progressive, but the boys are NOT ok.”
But another quickly put it into perspective, tweeting, “if u looked at this comment section without looking at the chart you’d think gen z was the highest and not by far the lowest here.”
For five decades, the GSS has studied American society. It is the only full-probability, personal-interview survey designed to monitor changes in both social characteristics and attitudes currently being conducted in the United States.
The GSS contains a standard core of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Among the topics covered are civil liberties, crime and violence, intergroup tolerance, morality, national spending priorities, psychological well-being, social mobility, and stress and traumatic events.