Assessing Opinions Towards Transgender Individuals

The purpose of this thesis is to examine changing attitudes towards transgender individuals, in that they are overwhelmingly marginalized and discriminated against. Recently, the Trump Administration has sought to limit their protections, such as their right to enter a restroom facility of their preferred gender identity. Up until recently, there was not such an overwhelming presence of transgender media available to the public. The emergence of the transgender community owes its success in part due to the Civil Rights Movement, where gays and lesbians came out in droves to push for their rights and the ability to live their lives freely and authentically. The extant literature on gays and lesbians, in addition to the findings here, will contribute to the expansion of knowledge available on transgender individuals and their rights, and how public policy addresses them. In this thesis, I argue that by examining the ratings given by the general public on those who identify as transgender via a feeling thermometer provided by the American National Election Survey, the results demonstrate that there is an upward trend of attitudes towards transgender individuals. Using multiple regression analyses, I found that region and frequency of attendance to religious services are among the influential demographic variables that determine changing attitudes towards transgender individuals. This research should add to the existing literature on LGBTQ+ politics, in a way that proves both meaningful for future survey research and for the future of LGBTQ+ rights