Western Europe More Open To Sex, Gender Change Education At Schools Compared To US - Poll

Germany, France and the United Kingdom are more open than the United States to the idea of introducing sexual orientation and gender change education into the school curriculum, though Americans are more supportive of the right of minors to undergo medical treatment that delays puberty, according to a French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) poll for Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2021) Germany, France and the United Kingdom are more open than the United States to the idea of introducing sexual orientation and gender change education into the school curriculum, though Americans are more supportive of the right of minors to undergo medical treatment that delays puberty, according to a French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) poll for Sputnik.

The survey, which included 4,010 people aged 18 and over, was conducted online in the form of a questionnaire from November 24-26 in Germany, France, the UK, and the US.

The questionnaire was prepared following a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Valdai International Discussion Club, in which he criticized Western practices of teaching gender change to children, calling it "terrible" when minors are pushed to make choices that could negatively affect the rest of their lives.

Respondents in the four countries were asked if they support or oppose a September decision by a UK Court of Appeal to allow teenagers under 16 to give informed consent to a medical treatment delaying puberty, necessary for gender change. The US came on top with more than a third of respondents (36%) being in favor, followed by Germany with 34%. At the same time, about half of those surveyed in all four countries were against the decision, with 52% in France and the UK, and 48% in the US and Germany.

Another question concerned the inclusion of information on same sex relations in the school curriculum.

In all countries, except the US, the number of supporters of the idea was higher than the number of its opponents � 64% voted in favor in Germany versus 27% against it, 52% in the UK versus 33%, and 42% in the US versus 43%, respectively. hom

Germany also turned out to be the most open to the suggestion of including gender change studies in schools with 53% in favor as opposed to only 37% against. In France, opinions were divided with 41% voting "for" and 42% "against." In the UK and the US, the "against" option was chosen by a majority of respondents - 44% versus 39% in the UK, and 48% versus 40% in the US.

These ideas have been mainly promoted by the green and liberal parties, and opposed by the conservatives, the poll found.

On the other hand, so-called "cancel culture," which means an exclusion from social life of public figures or companies due to problematic actions, was seen in a negative light by a majority of respondents in all four countries. In the US, 50% of the respondents were opposed to the phenomenon, while in the UK the number was 49%, and 59% in Germany. Only 33% of Americans, 27% of British and 29% of Germans had a positive opinion of "cancel culture."

The situation was different in France, where the number of opponents was significantly lower at 38%, while the number of those undecided was 29%. Still, only 33% of the French supported "cancel culture."