And that’s a wrap: here is the full list of results from the comprehensive Scot Goes Pop / Panelbase poll on reform of the Gender Recognition Act and related gender issues
We’ve now reached the conclusion of the latest Scot Goes Pop / Panelbase poll. As regular readers will recall, the idea for the poll back in July was to try to produce the Scottish equivalent of a comprehensive poll on gender self-ID and related matters that had just been conducted in the Republic of Ireland by RedC on behalf of The Countess website. I think we’ve pretty much achieved that – due to budget constraints, our poll maybe didn’t have quite the same granular detail as the RedC survey, but it covered most of the same bases. I also took great care to follow the example of the Irish poll by ensuring the questions were as neutral and balanced as humanly possible, so that the results would have maximum credibility and reliability. Indeed, I strongly suspect the reason that the poll has triggered such an abusive reaction on social media (especially yesterday) is that those with an agenda know that this was a serious exercise, meaning that the results are not as easily dismissed as might sometimes be the case with other polls on the same subject. The numbers have at least the real potential to do harm to one side of the debate – and of course to help the other side.
The poll took far longer to commission than I had originally hoped, initially because of funding issues, and later because I went down a very long blind alley in my efforts to find a firm willing to conduct our desired poll in a reasonably recognisable form. However, the important thing is that we managed to get it done before any final decisions are made about GRA reform at Holyrood. MSPs will have no excuses now for being unaware of the true state of public opinion on gender self-ID. That said, we live in a parliamentary democracy, and it’s entirely up to them to decide what use – if any – to make of that knowledge. They can even, if they really want to, mischaracterise and misrepresent public opinion – but that would be the most foolish and dangerous thing of all to do, for a number of reasons.
The full data tables for the poll can now be found at the Panelbase website HERE. And here is the full list of GRA question wordings and results, in the order the questions were actually asked of respondents. Bear in mind there were also a number of general political questions in the poll, but those were all asked before the GRA questions.
Scot Goes Pop / Panelbase poll (a representative sample of 1001 over-16s in Scotland was interviewed by Panelbase between 20th and 26th October 2021)
Gender dysphoria is a condition where a person feels a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity. For example, this may mean that a biologically male individual feels strongly that they are female, or a biologically female individual feels strongly that they are male. At present, most people who wish to legally change the sex or gender recorded on their birth certificate must first receive a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, but it is not necessary for them to have undergone gender reassignment surgery. The Scottish Government is committed to changing the law in Scotland within the next year to allow people to legally change their gender without a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, provided they make a solemn declaration that they are living in their new gender and will continue to do so.
In your opinion, who should be eligible to legally change the sex or gender recorded on their birth certificate?
Anyone who makes a solemn declaration that they are living in their new gender: 20%
Only people who have been medically diagnosed with gender dysphoria: 18%
Only people who have undergone gender reassignment surgery: 21%
No-one: 19%
Don’t Know / Prefer not to answer: 22%
If the law is changed in Scotland to allow people to legally change their gender without a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, do you think biological males who legally become female under the new rules should be allowed to access female-only spaces, such as changing rooms, toilets, hospital wards and women’s refuges, in exactly the same way as all other women?
Yes, they should: 22%
No, they shouldn’t: 54%
Don’t Know / Prefer not to answer: 25%
If a woman requires an intimate medical examination after being sexually assaulted, do you think she should have the right to ask to be examined by a doctor who has been biologically female since birth, or should she only have the right to ask to be examined by a doctor who is legally regarded as a woman, regardless of that person’s biological sex at birth?
She should have the right to ask to be examined by a doctor who has been biologically female since birth: 58%
She should only have the right to ask to be examined by a doctor who is legally regarded as a woman: 20%
Don’t Know / Prefer not to answer: 22%
Some people believe that biological sex cannot be changed, and that individuals who change their legal gender from male to female should not have unrestricted access to female-only spaces such as changing rooms, toilets, hospital wards and women’s refuges. How do you think society should treat these beliefs?
These beliefs should not be tolerated because they are bigoted or transphobic: 20%
These beliefs should be respected as a legitimate part of democratic debate: 53%
Don’t Know / Prefer not to answer: 27%
Some politicians have suggested that the result of the Scottish Parliament election in May of this year showed that voters rejected candidates who they believed were “transphobic” for opposing reforms to make it easier for individuals to change their legal gender. Thinking back to the Scottish Parliament election, which of these statements best describes how you used your vote?
I consciously rejected candidates who I believed to be transphobic: 11%
I did not consciously reject candidates due to their alleged transphobia: 57%
I did not vote: 13%
Don’t Know / Prefer not to answer: 18%
Some people argue that, in the interests of inclusion and equality for transgender people, athletes who have legally changed their gender from male to female should be permitted to compete in women’s sporting events. Others argue that athletes who were born biologically male should be excluded from women’s sporting events, because they would have an unfair advantage over other female athletes and might put other female athletes at greater risk of physical injury. Which point of view do you find more persuasive?
Athletes who have legally changed their gender from male to female should be permitted to compete in women’s sporting events: 19%
Athletes who have legally changed their gender from male to female should be excluded from women’s sporting events: 57%
Don’t Know / Prefer not to answer: 24%
Some people argue that it is bigoted or transphobic for lesbian women or heterosexual men to refuse to consider dating individuals who have changed their gender from male to female. Others argue that being attracted only to individuals who have been biologically female since birth is a normal part of how sexual attraction works for many lesbian women and heterosexual men, and that it is wrong to pressurise people into dating individuals they are not attracted to. Which point of view do you find more persuasive?
It is wrong for lesbian women or heterosexual men to refuse to consider dating individuals who have changed their gender from male to female: 7%
It is wrong to pressurise lesbian women and heterosexual men to consider dating transgender people they are not attracted to: 65%
Don’t Know / Prefer not to answer: 28%
Some people argue that it is bigoted or transphobic to ‘misgender’ a transgender person – for example to refer to them as ‘he’ or ‘him’ if their preferred pronouns are ‘she’ and ‘her’. Others argue that forcing people to use particular pronouns when referring to a transgender person is an unacceptable attack on free speech. Which point of view do you find most persuasive?
It is unacceptable to refer to a transgender person by the wrong pronouns: 30%
It is an unacceptable attack on free speech to force people to use particular pronouns when referring to a transgender person: 40%
Don’t Know / Prefer not to answer: 29%
Do you think official government statistics should record whether sex offenders were male or female at birth, or only whether they were legally regarded as male or female at the time of their offence?
Official statistics should record whether sex offenders were male or female at birth: 49%
Official statistics should only record whether sex offenders were legally regarded as male or female at the time of their offence: 26%
Don’t Know / Prefer not to answer: 25%
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Via the embedded player below, you can watch my discussion last week with Denise Findlay about the issues raised by the poll.
