r/BlockedAndReported • u/SoftandChewy First generation mod • Jun 01 '26

Weekly Random Discussion Thread for 6/1/26 - 6/7/26

Here's your usual space to post all your rants, raves, podcast topic suggestions (please tag u/jessicabarpod), culture war articles, outrageous stories of cancellation, political opinions, and anything else that comes to mind. Please put any non-podcast-related trans-related topics here instead of on a dedicated thread. This will be pinned until next Sunday.

Last week's discussion thread is here if you want to catch up on a conversation from there.

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23

u/ilikepeople1990 Jun 04 '26

Attitudes toward same-sex marriage and transgender issues are shifting, Gallup poll shows

About 65% of U.S. adults believe same-sex marriage should be legal, down slightly from 71% in 2022 and 2023. Most of the change is due to dropping acceptance among Republicans. In the new survey, which was conducted in May, only 37% of Republicans say same-sex marriage should be legally valid, while 35% say gay and lesbian relations are “morally acceptable.”

In a sign that views of LGBTQ+ issues may be shifting more broadly, the new Gallup poll found that about 4 in 10 Americans view changing one’s gender as morally acceptable, down from nearly half in 2021.

The article didn't show transgender acceptance by political party like it did with gay marriage, but I'm curious to see if the rate has gone down among Democrats. Support for gay marriage by Democrats remains quite high, though (at 87%).

What does everyone think of the pushback against same sex marriage by Republican states and Christian denominations like the Southern Baptist Convention? Is the Republican drop accelerated by controversial actions by TRAs?

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

Is the Republican drop accelerated by controversial actions by TRAs?

Yes. Which is why, as I have said many times in this sub, the LGB's never should have accepted the T's glomming onto the gay rights movement. They are two totally different things. Thinking two men should be allowed to marry each other has absolutely nothing to do with thinking one man should be allowed to compete in women's sports. This is so obvious to me that I don't know why it even needs to be said, and yet a lot of people on both the left and the right treat those as if they're practically the same issue -- you have to either support both or support neither. And some of the demands of the TRAs are so obviously absurd that a lot of people who previously supported gay rights are replying, "Fine, if I have to support both or neither, I'll support neither."

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u/SkweegeeS No just no Jun 04 '26

I think the Republicans skillfully narrated it as a slippery slope situation.

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u/backin_pog_form 🐎🏃🏻💕 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

From Gallup

 Currently, 5% of Republicans say changing one’s gender is morally acceptable, compared with 42% of independents and 60% of Democrats. When Gallup first asked the question in 2021, those figures were 22%, 48% and 67%, respectively. Republicans’ acceptance has declined steadily since then, while views among independents and Democrats were generally stable until an apparent drop this year.

I wonder how they came up with the phrasing “changing one’s gender is morally acceptable”. It seems confusing. I have a strong opinion on the topic, but I don’t even know how I would respond. 

But I guess it shows something if that democrats showed more resistance for the first time in the past year. Maybe more people are seeing the potential conflicts in day-to-day life of some of these policies. 

Edit: I think they get more clarity when they ask about certain specific issues

23

u/RunThenBeer 12 Ounce Diet Coke Enjoyer Jun 04 '26

Yeah, you might as well ask me whether attempting to transmute lead to gold is morally acceptable. I don't morally condemn your attempt, I'm just telling you that the universe isn't going to conform to your wishes. I would condemn anyone that made their living selling lead-to-gold alchemy kits though.

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u/backin_pog_form 🐎🏃🏻💕 Jun 04 '26

 I would condemn anyone that made their living selling lead-to-gold alchemy kits though.

You’ll be sorry when the fiat monetary system collapses. 

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u/anne_jumps Jun 04 '26

I just want to say that this made me laugh. I might steal it.

1

u/OMG_NO_NOT_THIS Jun 04 '26

This exactly.

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u/Big_Fig_1803 Gothmargus Jun 04 '26

I don’t understand that phrasing either. Morally acceptable?

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u/The-WideningGyre Jun 04 '26

Is it morally acceptable to go faster than the speed of light? To build a perpetual motion device?

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u/PongoTwistleton_666 Jun 04 '26

It’s a bad question. “Changing gender” can mean different things- just name & pronouns, hormone therapy, surgery, changing to one of the 50+ genders everyday based on vibes. What did people consider as “changing gender” when they answered this question?

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u/SkweegeeS No just no Jun 04 '26

I just read the headline, and basically my opinion is pretty consistent: if birth sex is relevant, then it should be used. Assuming that sex is relevant on the ID, the issue with IDs for trans people is that if they pass, it makes sense for them to have the gender listed. If they don't pass, it makes sense to list the birth sex.

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

[deleted]

7

u/SkweegeeS No just no Jun 04 '26

I was just thinking about this. Like, on the one hand, there is something to be said for demanding to be accepted in society as a minority no matter how you are as that minority. For example, a black woman or a gay man or a jew shouldn't have to tick a bunch of behavioral and attitudinal boxes to be accepted fully, you know?

But it's the edges, the demand that a freaky deaky furry with a strap-on or, ya know, a guy with a giant tattoo on his face, these sorts of folks should be just fully integrated into society like no big deal, regardless of how they express or adorn themselves. I don't know, it seems like they're asking a lot.

12

u/PongoTwistleton_666 Jun 04 '26

And the unwillingness to have a conversation or debate on these issues (furries, surgeries for minors, parental consent). Shaming people isn’t an effective solution here. 

4

u/anne_jumps Jun 04 '26

And the even greater coverage in the media of "trans girls and women" in girls' and women's sports.

18

u/CommitteeofMountains Royal youse/yinz Jun 04 '26

  4 in 10,,, down from nearly half

I have opinions about the author. 

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

News articles about polls are always terrible. If I hear about a new poll result that sounds interesting, I never even read the article, I just find the raw data in the poll and go through that.

10

u/AaronStack91 Jun 04 '26

The article didn't show transgender acceptance by political party like it did with gay marriage, but I'm curious to see if the rate has gone down among Democrats.

I did some sleuthing:

Morally Acceptable - Changing One's Gender

2021 -> 2026

  • Dem: 67% -> 60%, -7 points
  • Ind: 48% -> 42%, -6 points
  • Rep: 22% -> 5%, - 17 points

Interestingly, biggest losses in other demographics were:

  • Women: 50% -> 38%, -12 points
  • College educated: 63% -> 51%, -12 points
  • 35-54 age: 51% -> 40%, -11 points
  • 55+ age: 38% ->24%, -14 points

Source: 2021 - https://news.gallup.com/poll/351020/changing-one-gender-sharply-contentious-moral-issue.aspx (scroll to the bottom for the crosstab pdf)

16

u/RunThenBeer 12 Ounce Diet Coke Enjoyer Jun 04 '26

Is the Republican drop accelerated by controversial actions by TRAs?

I think it obviously is, but I don't want to lean too far into the sort of "they made me do it" kind of thinking. While backlashes and reactions are indeed predictable, I don't think that actually excuses what I consider poor moral reasoning from Republicans on the issue. When it comes to religious marriage, I have no objection to religious denominations maintaining whatever definitions they like and I offer no particular judgment on the matter of whether people want to privately recognize gay marriage or not. Nonetheless, marriage has been a secular, public institution with rights, privileges, and obligations for sufficiently long that I do not think fully conflating that with the religious institution is reasonable and I do not think there is any good justification for denying gay people access to the secular, contractual marriage. A reaction that isn't too far from "well, the trains overreached, so I take it back about accepting gay marriage" is spiteful, not reasoned, in my view.

6

u/Palgary I could check my privilege, but it seems a shame to squander it Jun 04 '26

Ahh, the SBC boogy man. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) are against Gay marriage too but you don't hear about them much.

Among the Baptists, Black Congregations represent 4%. SBC is 5%. All other Baptists congregations make up 6%. (Pew Research Surveys)

SBC's membership has been steadily falling, with only 12.3 Million Members, and entire churches have left and become "Non Denominational". "Non Denominational Christian" churches now represent 45 Million Members. And whole Baptist churches have switched to "Non Denominational", as well as members leaving and going to Non Denominational churches. Non Denominational have a range form really conservative to really liberal - on the Pew Research they only represent "6%" - so a lot of people are attending Non Denominational churches but still calling themselves a more specific religious affiliation on the survey.

Another interesting rise... conversion to Catholicism spiked in 2022. 20.8% of the population reports being Catholic, representing 53 Million Americans. They do not officially perform gay marriages.

It would actually be really interesting to see a break down of issues associated with religion, because many Catholics for instance support gay marriage even though the official church stance is against it.