On Stonewall’s 54th Anniversary, a Majority of Transgender Adults Report a Low Sense of Belonging in U.S. Society and Less Than Half Are Comfortable Being Open in Their Local Community
By Devi Ruia, Kirby Phares, and Sabrina Jacobs
On the night of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, and its LGBTQ+ patrons fought back. The uprising, known as the Stonewall Riots, helped spark the modern LGBTQ+ movement. In the 54 years since, the LGBTQ+ community has achieved monumental progress, including legislative and judicial victories and greater representation in media and government than ever before.
And yet, this increased visibility has been met with a political backlash, particularly at the expense of the transgender and nonbinary community. Previous Data for Progress polling has found that LGBTQ+ adults feel like society has become less safe — and a majority of transgender Americans have either moved or considered moving out of their state or community as a result of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Diving deeper into the experiences of LGBTQ+ Americans, our new polling illuminates varying senses of belonging and comfort within the LGBTQ+ community, as well as severe disparities around economic insecurity and mental health dissatisfaction among LGBTQ+ voters compared to those who are cisgender and straight.
New Data for Progress polling finds that a majority of LGBTQ+ adults feel like they somewhat or strongly belong in U.S. society (53 percent) and in their neighborhoods and surrounding community (52 percent). However, a majority of transgender adults report a low sense of belonging in U.S. society (59 percent) and in their neighborhood (50 percent). In comparison, a majority of LGBQ+ adults who do not identify as transgender report a high sense of belonging in U.S. society (56 percent) and in their neighborhood (53 percent).
We also see a similar disparity across age groups. Adults 65+ are most likely to have a high sense of belonging in U.S. society at 69 percent, while only 43 percent of LGBTQ+ young adults between 18-24 share the same feeling of somewhat or strongly belonging in U.S. society.
Data for Progress also finds that less than half of transgender adults feel comfortable dressing and acting the way they want (45 percent) or engaging in public displays of affection (46 percent) in their local community without fear of violence or harassment. This is compared to 67 percent and 59 percent of LGBQ+ adults who do not identify as transgender, respectively.
Furthermore, only 43 percent of transgender adults feel comfortable being open and transparent about their sexual orientation or gender identity in their local community, compared to 60 percent of LGBQ+ adults who do not identify as transgender.
Given fears of backlash and mixed feelings around belonging, our polling demonstrates that many LGBTQ+ adults rely on online spaces to socialize with others and find affirmation. On a daily basis, LGBTQ+ adults socialize with other LGBTQ+ people more often in online communities or on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, or Discord (41 percent) than in their local community (33 percent).
In particular, transgender adults are more likely than cis LGBQ+ adults to socialize daily with other members of the LGBTQ+ community. Forty-eight percent of transgender adults socialize daily with LGBTQ+ people both in their local community and online, while only 30 percent of LGBQ+ adults who do not identify as transgender socialize with other LGBTQ+ people in their community daily and 40 percent socialize with other LGBTQ+ people online daily.
We also find that LGBTQ+ adults, especially young adults, are more open about their sexual orientation or gender identity with their online communities than they are with their families and neighborhoods. Seventy-seven percent of LGBTQ+ adults ages 18-24 are open to at least most people in their online community, whereas only 31 percent are similarly open within their neighborhood and 49 percent are that open to their family.
In a separate survey of likely voters, LGBTQ+ voters report feeling higher levels of dissatisfaction with their mental health, standard of living, and household income compared to straight, cisgender voters. Among straight, cisgender voters, 72 percent are satisfied with their mental health, 65 percent are satisfied with their standard of living, and 52 percent are satisfied with their household income. In comparison, 51 percent of LGBTQ+ voters are satisfied with their mental health, 46 percent are satisfied with their standard of living, and only 38 percent are satisfied with their household income.
In addition to higher reports of dissatisfaction with their standard of living and household income, LGBTQ+ voters are more likely to struggle to pay essential bills. While 53 percent of cisgender and straight voters say they never have problems paying for food and groceries, only 31 percent of LGBTQ+ voters report the same. Fifty-five percent of cisgender and straight voters never struggle to pay utility bills, compared to 36 percent of LGBTQ+ voters.
It’s clear that many LGBTQ+ adults, particularly those who are transgender, struggle to feel a sense of belonging and don’t feel comfortable expressing themselves in their communities. The alarmingly high levels of dissatisfaction with mental health and standard of living cannot be divorced from the reality that the LGBTQ+ community has increasingly been under attack and made to feel less safe. Elected officials must work to confront economic and health disparities, defend LGBTQ+ people against misguided political attacks, and implement intersectional policies that foster acceptance and connectedness.
Devi Ruia (@DeviRuia) is the Deputy Communications Director at Data for Progress.
Kirby Phares is a senior analyst at Data for Progress.
Sabrina Jacobs (@bri_jacobs) is a staff writer at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology
LGBTQ+ poll
From May 19 to 22, 2023, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,036 LGBTQ+ adults nationally using web panel respondents. Respondents were defined as LGBTQ+ if they identified as LGBTQ+ or transgender, with a sexual orientation other than straight or heterosexual, a gender identity other than male or female, or both. The sample was weighted to be representative of the adult LGBTQ+ community by age, gender, education, and race using the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey (HPS) data on the national LGBTQ+ adult population. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.
National poll
From May 25 to 26, 2023, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,269 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and voting history. Respondents were defined as LGBTQ+ if they identified as LGBTQ+ or transgender, with a sexual orientation other than straight or heterosexual, a gender identity other than male or female, or both. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.