by Diane Robertson
The Innovation Group released survey results that compared responses of Generation Z (ages 13 to 20) to those of the Millennial generation (21-34) about gender and sexuality. The results suggest that fears parents and others have had about comprehensive sexuality education, sexually explicit media, and laws that support and promote homosexuality are founded in truth.
As comprehensive sexuality education and gay marriage have spread across the nation. Many parents expressed worry and fear that this would cause kids to question their sexuality. Those fears were hushed by the LGBT lobby who declared that LGBT people are born that way, and therefore their open homosexuality could not possibly affect the younger generation. That seemed fair at the time. But this new study changes things. More and more young people are questioning their sexuality and the validity of gender.
The Innovation Group presented their findings on March 11th, in Austin, Texas, at South by Southwest Interactive in a panel titled Generation Z and Gender: Beyond Binaries?
When asked to rate their sexual orientation on a scale of 0 to 6 where 0 means completely heterosexual and 6 means completely homosexual, only 48% of 13 to 20 year olds responded with a 0. 35% responded with a 1 to 5 expressing some degree of bisexuality, 6% responded with a 6 and 4% did not know.
65% of the Millennials, ages 21 to 34, responded with a 0, while 24% reported some form of bisexuality and 6% described themselves as being completely homosexual.
56% of Generation Z reported knowing someone who wanted to be referred to with a gender neutral pronoun such as “they,” “them,” or “ze” compared to 45% of Millennials. 38% of Generation Z strongly agreed that gender does not define a person as much as it used to while 27% of Millennials believed this to be true.
Additionally, only 44% of Generation Z said they always buy clothes designed for their own gender and 70% believe that it is important for public places to provide gender neutral bathrooms. Millennials were slightly more conservative with 54% buying clothes according to their gender and 57% expressing a need for public places to provide gender neutral bathrooms.
The results are alarming and make it clear that growing up in a society where the media, the laws, and the school curriculum support and promote homosexuality and transgender as normal do indeed affect the sexual orientation of the young. Time will tell, but this is likely to have negative effects on marriages and birth rates as well.