Boomers less accepting of gay relationships: poll
Image: Image: Ann-Marie Calilhanna.
New data from YouGov has revealed that older Australians are less likely to be accepting of LGBTI people.
The poll asked people around the world, including more than 1,000 Australians, about a range of topics in relation to minorities and acceptance, The Guardian has reported.
Overall, 67 per cent of people said they believe a same-sex relationship is acceptable.
The results differed according to the age of respondents, with just 57 per cent of those aged over 55 saying gay relationships are acceptable, compared with 70 per cent of people aged 45–54.
Eight out of 22 countries in the international study performed better than Australia in acceptance of same-sex relationships, with Denmark taking the top spot at 80 per cent.
Half of Australians said it was acceptable for someone to be trans—a figure that was also divided by age.
While 62 per cent of people under 35 said they supported trans people, 46 per cent or less of those over 35 agreed.
The survey also revealed negative attitudes among Australians to other minorities.
Over half of respondents had unfavourable sentiments towards Islam, with 37 per cent rating their attitude “very unfavourable”—the most common response.
Age was again a major factor in sentiment towards Islam, with over 60 per cent of those aged over 45 reporting negative sentiment, and fewer than 5 per cent saying they viewed Islam favourably.
One in five Australians said they viewed Judaism unfavourably.
Almost half of the survey respondents admitted they had very few or no close friends from an ethnic background different to their own.
Despite this, 59 per cent said that identifying as a “citizen of the world” was important to them.
The article ‘Boomers Less Accepting of Gay Relationships: Poll’ presents an interesting snapshot of modern Australia, but its conclusions are opposite to my own even though based upon the same data.
While the article acknowledges that older people often tend to be less conversant of new societal trends and understandings, it tends to imply that the baby boomer generation is intolerant and homophobic. Every generation is composed of both good and bad people, educated and ignorant, selfish and selfless, progressive and conservative. My personal experiences enable me to testify of my own cohort.
I was a tail-end baby boomer, and I grew up with older boomer friends as my mentors and role models. This is the generation that stopped the Vietnam War and the Cold War. These are the activists who gave us civil rights, gay liberation (including the Mardi Gras) and second-wave feminism (originally called women’s liberation). They abolished apartheid, and worked hard to educate younger generations against attitudes that separate and divide people.
Many of my older LGBT boomer friends and heroes fought and died confronting the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and they left a legacy that includes non-discrimination, acceptance of diversity, and even the path to Marriage Equality.
Yes, there are still too many homophobic Australians, but their statistical numbers are way down compared to ten or twenty years ago. Rather than seeing this as a condemnation of a generation, I see it as a source of congratulations to all activists who have worked so hard for a lifetime. Their important work continues, and I hope that younger people will continue to pick up and run with the same torch.
Hi Steve, Not all older people are bigots. Not all younger people are tolerant and accepting. Ageism is obviously alive and well in your little corner of the world! All my (over 70+ yo) friends are open minded and accepting of different lifestyles and opinions. You could take a lesson or two out of their life books!
That’s right about boomers,also their generation was against outer race marriage was considered a big no no,and completely unacceptable,boomers considered,their un-married daughters pregnancys a curse,they were well hidden and their off-spring surrended,often without the mothers will.
Boomers were also extremely racist,homophobic and just completely backwards.
if we go back before the boomer generation,it was a huge no no to marry out of your class or religion,fancy a catholic marrying a church of england,aint gonna happen in my family etc
My opinion is dont worry about boomers,their to busy these days looking for their adult diapers,and still wondering why Australia needs an Internet,let alone what is an internet,seriously.
thanks