In 2018, then-PM Theresa May published an LGBT action plan that included the protection and expansion of transgender rights. “We can be proud that the UK is a world leader in advancing LGBT rights,” she said, as she promised to make the gender recognition process less intrusive, acknowledged the existence of non-binary people and condemned transphobic bullying in schools. “Everyone in this country should feel safe and happy to be who they are,” added Penny Mordaunt, the equalities minister at the time, “and to love who they love, without judgement or fear.”
Just four years later, their action plan reads like something from a parallel universe.
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One survey in 2022 showed that two-thirds of Brits simply don’t pay any attention to trans issues, with only 35% actually showing any interest. Those who show more interest in trans issues are far more likely to hold favourable views of trans people. Meanwhile, those who pay no attention more often hold negative views. It seems clear, therefore, that the hardening in public opinion against trans rights has been driven almost entirely by people with no real knowledge or interest in trans issues.
As with so many issues, the split is also stratified by age. Among older voters, only 24% actually pay attention to trans rights; among younger voters, this figure is as high as 50%.
We know that older people are far more likely to get their news from newspapers and broadcast media. Their opinions, therefore, are more likely to be influenced by the mainstream media than by, say, personal experience or social media.
Research by trans rights activist MimmyMum suggests that UK media has published an average of 154 articles on trans issues every single month over the past seven years. That’s a total of 13,500 articles focusing on a minority group that makes up just 0.1% of the population.
Britain’s most-read newspaper, the Daily Mail, has certainly dramatically increased its coverage over the past few years. Comparing the first month of each year shows a rise from six articles in January 2013 to a jaw-dropping 115 articles in January 2023 (+1817%).
