Majority of Americans Say Allowing ‘Preferred Pronouns’ Confuse Children: Poll

School children wearing masks walk outside Condit Elementary School in Bellaire, Texas, in Dec. 16, 2020. Francois Picard/AFP via Getty Images

A majority of Americans believe allowing children to choose a pronoun that is not aligned with their biological sex would only confuse them, according to a new poll.

The Harvard-Harris poll (pdf) was conducted online from May 18 to 19 and involved 1,963 registered voters weighted to represent the U.S. population. The poll did not provide a margin of error.

The respondents were asked whether children should be able to pick their pronouns, or whether they should be addressed by pronouns that correspond to their sex. Nearly three-fifths of respondents (59 percent) said children should be “called by their sex.”

Respondents identifying as Republicans (77 percent) and independents (64 percent) overwhelmingly believe children should not be allowed to choose their own pronouns. The majorities of both male (60 percent) and female (59 percent) respondents agree.

By comparison, most Democrats (61 percent), people between ages 18 to 34 (56 percent), and urban dwellers (53 percent) believe that children should be able to pick pronouns they like.

The poll also asked whether allowing children to pick their pronouns is a move that “prevents discrimination against transgender students” or an “excessive measure that does more to confuse kids about their sex.” A solid majority, or 60 percent of respondents, said preferred pronouns confuse children.

Another part of the poll questioned whether respondents believe teachers should “be required to use pronouns that kids say they want used under penalty of losing their job or should teachers have discretion to use pronouns as they see appropriate.” A majority of 63 percent of respondents said that decision should be left to teachers.

There were also more respondents who said it should not be illegal to misgender someone by pronouns, with 73 percent of respondents saying that it should not be “classified as illegal discrimination if you fail to use someone’s selected pronouns.”

The poll comes as three boys at a Wisconsin middle school face sexual harassment charges over accusations that they used wrong pronouns on a classmate, who earlier this year announced a preference for “they” and “them” pronouns.

Rose Rabidoux, a parent of one of the accused boys, told ABC 2 News that the new pronoun preference confused her son.

“It’s plural. It doesn’t make sense to him. I said so, I told him to call them by their names.” Rabidoux said.

In April, a philosophy professor in Ohio reached a $400,000 settlement with university officials who threatened to fire him for refusing to use the preferred pronouns of a male student identifying as a woman. He also secured the right to avoid referring to anyone using titles or pronouns that conflict with his beliefs.