(ZENIT News / Washington, 09.07.2025).- A fresh study from UCLA’s Williams Institute has placed new numbers on a reality already shaping American cultural and political life: more people, especially the young, are identifying as transgender than ever before. The report estimates that 1% of Americans aged 13 and older—some 2.8 million individuals—now identify as transgender, a figure that represents a doubling since 2016.
Behind the statistics lies a striking generational contrast. While just 0.3% of adults over 65 identify as transgender, the percentage leaps to 2.7% among those aged 18 to 24, and to 3.3% among teenagers. In effect, three out of every four transgender-identifying people in the United States are under 35, suggesting that the phenomenon is not simply holding steady but accelerating.
The study’s data, gathered from national surveillance systems including the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, show not only growth but also a greater willingness across the country to self-identify as transgender. Forty-one states now include questions on gender identity in their surveys—more than double the number from a decade ago—providing the most comprehensive snapshot to date of a demographic long undercounted.
For some observers, these findings are celebrated as evidence of a more open, inclusive culture. For others, they raise alarms about the direction of American youth and the ideologies shaping them. Theresa Farnan, a researcher at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, describes the numbers as both “shocking” and, in another sense, unsurprising. She points to cultural currents—from shifts in media and education to the influence of peer networks—that, in her view, are pushing adolescents toward identities disconnected from biological reality.
“This isn’t going to disappear,” she told Catholic News Agency. “We are witnessing millions of people embracing a false anthropology, one that denies what the body communicates about who we are.” Farnan warns that while legislative bans on certain medical procedures for minors may slow the trend, they do not address the deeper cultural drivers.
The report itself remains neutral on causes, but its generational breakdown underscores a profound cultural transition. In 2016, just 0.6% of Americans identified as transgender; seven years later, that figure has nearly doubled, largely due to younger cohorts. Analysts suggest that the increase stems from both improved data collection and greater cultural acceptance, but also from evolving social pressures, with young people reporting that they often feel compelled to align with progressive views on gender in educational and social environments.
The consequences ripple well beyond statistics. School districts, churches, families, and policymakers are grappling with the practical and ethical questions raised by these trends. Religious voices, particularly within Catholic and evangelical communities, argue that the debate is not merely about personal identity but about the meaning of the human person and the stability of family life. For them, the generational divide represents not only a demographic shift but also a widening philosophical fault line.
Whether the numbers will continue their upward trajectory remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is that the United States is entering an era where questions of gender identity will not remain confined to academic debates or political platforms. They are reshaping the experiences of millions of households, reframing public policy, and challenging religious communities to respond with clarity, compassion, and conviction.
The Williams Institute projects that by the close of this decade, transgender-identifying Americans will likely represent one of the youngest and fastest-growing demographics in the nation—an indicator not just of statistical change, but of a cultural transformation whose long-term consequences remain to be seen.
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