A plurality of millennials think it should be a criminal offense to use the wrong gender pronouns when speaking to a person, according to a poll.
Most people ages 25-44 agreed with the statement that “referring to someone by the wrong gender pronoun (he/him, she/her) should be a criminal offense,” according to a poll published by Newsweek.
Those 25-34 years old were much likelier to agree that misgendering should be a criminal offense (44%) than those who disagreed (31%).
The gap between those who supported the criminal offense (38%) and those who were against it (35%) was narrower for those who were 35-44.
Millennials are defined as people born between 1981 and 1996, making them ages 27-42.
They were the only generation where most respondents agreed with making misgendering a criminal offense.
Nearly half (48%) of Generation Z respondents disagreed with making misgendering a criminal offense, while 33% did agree with that statement.
Americans as a whole largely disagreed — 65% said misgendering shouldn’t be a crime, while 19% thought it should be.
The poll was conducted on July 6 by Redfield & Wilton Strategies and included 1,500 responses from eligible American voters.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.