Citizen Attitudes Toward Transgender Sports Bans

Abstract

Dozens of recent bills have sought to ban trans girls from participating in girls’ school sports. This study investigates citizens’ perspectives on proposed Georgia legislation using explanatory sequential mixed methods design to assess overall distributions and predictors of attitudes as well as the psychological development of people’s ideologies. Preliminary quantitative results find gender, race, interpersonal contact with trans people, and political ideology predict the likelihood of supporting the trans sports ban. Further, preliminary qualitative analysis for people who support the ban reveal important themes including strong beliefs about gendered bodies, competition and injury, as well as significant ambivalence about whether the legislation is right. Ongoing work compares these perspectives to those opposed to this legislation.