Gen X members say they’re LGBTQ+. But among millennials born
between 1981 and 1996, that number shoots up to 14.2%, then rises sharply to 23.1% among Gen Z members, the millennial successors who were born between 1997 and 2006.
WHAT’S DRIVING THE TREND? Today’s children spend even more time being raised by screens than by parents. Where kids once played out- side and neighbors knew each other, now social media and its liberally biased algorithms have become the dominant force shaping the lives and attitudes of Gen Z, the first Ameri- cans to have been brought up not knowing a life without smartphones and tablets. Growing peer pressure to be more
diverse, gender confusion spawned by indoctrination in schools, and politically correct attitudes on social media are among the reasons being considered.
Conservative thinkers have
warned in recent years that expos- ing young people to nontraditional expressions of sexuality and gender could have lasting consequences for society. In October 2022, Philadelphia pub- lic-school parents erupted after they were notified of an upcoming drag queen story hour in the classroom. In a separate incident in February
2024, an elementary school principal in Oklahoma was pressured to resign after his weekend gig masquerading as a drag queen was exposed. In response, over 15 state legis-
latures have considered laws ban- ning drag shows in public libraries or schools. The latest legislative push is under-
way in Alabama, where GOP state House Majority Leader Scott Stadtha- gen filed a bill that seeks to ban “drag performances” in public schools and libraries as “harmful to minors.” His proposed legislation states “a
public K-12 school or public library shall not knowingly present or spon-
sor any drag performance in the presence of a minor without the con- sent of the minor’s parent or legal guardian.” One factor that suggests culture
may play a significant role: Demo- crats and those living in major met- ropolitan areas were much more like- ly to view themselves as LGBTQ+.
Some social scientists argue the LGBTQ+ trend simply reflects the growing acceptance of alternative lifestyles.
Now that the Trump adminis-
tration is guiding the culture away from pro-DEI and transgender poli- cies, Sarah Parshall Perry, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Founda- tion, suggests the eagerness of some young people to identify as LGBTQ+ may fade. Perry calls it a “return to common sense.”
BIDEN’S FOUR-YEAR ONSLAUGHT Perry states that former President Joe Biden’s executive order granting federal civil rights protection to peo- ple professing diverse gender iden- tity impacted more than 100 federal laws and regulations, penetrating deeply into the social fabric. “What this administration has to
do now is essentially untie the Gord- ian knot,” Perry tells Newsmax. “But the cultural damage has already been done. “It does not surprise me in the
least,” Perry adds, “that the fastest- growing metric in the survey are indeed Generation Z, the young- est of all the identified generations, because they have been subject to the greatest four-year onslaught of gender identity.” Some social scientists argue the
LGBTQ+ trend simply reflects the growing acceptance of alternative lifestyles. Others contend it reflects enduring damage to the social fabric caused by promulgation of a politi- cally correct, “woke” ideology. Overall, 85.7% of those surveyed
still describe themselves as het- erosexual. Some 5.2% identified as bisexual, 2% as gay, 1.4% as lesbian, 3% as transgender, and 1% as other. Five percent of Gallup respondents declined to answer.
POLITICS, CULTURE, AND SEX Even before taking office, President Donald Trump made clear his oppo- sition to what he called “transgender lunacy,” stating that in his adminis- tration “it will be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.” His executive order “Ending Radi-
cal Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” blocks federal funding for schools that include “gender ideology and critical race theory” in their curri- cula.
He also issued an executive order
to prevent transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports. Rep. Erin Houchin has voiced
strong support for Trump’s executive broadsides against transgenderism. “He wants to make sure that fed-
eral dollars are not going to these things that are harming American youth and American citizens,” the Indiana Republican recently told Newsmax. “I certainly support all efforts to do that.” Blue-state attorneys general
have filed lawsuits seeking to block Trump’s plans to discourage what conservatives consider gender indoc- trination. But Perry says she is confi- dent Trump will prevail. “His executive orders are based
on the correct application of federal civil rights law,” she tells Newsmax. “That’s why those orders are consti- tutional.”
APRIL 2025 | NEWSMAX 11
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