Gay and bisexual people are more likely to consider dating a trans partner

Gay and bisexual people are more likely to consider dating a trans partner

Gay and bisexual people are more likely than their straight counterparts to consider dating a trans person, new research shows.

The study of trans exclusion from dating, published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, asked almost 1,000 cis people of various ages which genders they would date, out of cis men, cis women, trans men, trans woman, and non-binary people.

Overall, only 12 per cent said they would date a trans person.

Those who would date a trans partner were likely to be somewhat older, more educated, and less religious.

Heterosexuals were the least likely to date a trans partner, with just 1.8 per cent of straight women and 3.3 per cent of straight men saying they would consider it.

Of those who said they would date a trans person, the gender they selected was likely to be at odds with their stated orientation.

Half of the straight women who said they would date a trans person included trans women in their preferences, and half of the straight men who would date a trans person included trans men.

Whether straight people claiming they would date a trans person of the same sex was due to a misunderstanding of the difference between trans men and trans women, or more interest in genitals than gender, was unclear.

Non-heterosexual participants in the study were more likely to say they would date a trans person, with 11.5 per cent of gay men and 29 per cent of lesbians reporting their dating preferences were trans-inclusive.

Of the lesbians who said they would date a trans person, 38 per cent would date trans men but not trans women, similar to the seemingly contradictory results among many of the straight respondents.

Of the gay men who said they would date a trans person, none excluded trans men.

Bisexual and queer participants were by far the most likely to date a trans person, with 52 per cent saying they would consider it.

The study’s authors attributed at least some of the results to cissexism and transmisygyny, identifying “a pattern of masculine privileging and transfeminine exclusion”.

Trans people face unique challenges in dating, including discrimination and potential cis partners misunderstanding their gender, in addition to lack of interest from many due to their trans status.

The research is the first of its kind to attempt quantifying the preferences of cis people in relation to dating trans partners.

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