Back to gender reality for Gen Z

Not that long ago, it seemed like a growing number of young people thought about traditional notions of gender like most people think about flat earth theory: “You mean people still believe that?”

There was considerable societal pressure for Generation Z to reject a binary understanding of gender. Gender-specific bathrooms and locker rooms were disappearing. Seemingly every new television program or film included non-binary characters; the younger the cast and plot points, the more likely there would be trans characters. Young adult (YA) fiction was dominated by coming-of-age stories that involved gender dysphoria. Social media influencers promoted gender fluidity and urged young people, especially girls, to question their biological sex. The momentum in athletics was towards biological men being permitted to compete in women’s sports.

A growing vibe shift, and hopefully a more lasting culture shift, became increasingly apparent during 2023 and 2024. Medical professionals increasingly raised questions about the relationship between mental illness and transgenderism. State legislatures and courts pushed back on transgenderism in intercollegiate and high school athletics. The major party candidates’ respective views of transgenderism impacted the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Moving into 2025, the Trump Administration has taken several steps to further undermine trans ideology, especially through executive orders.

A recent report indicates high schoolers and college-aged young adults are also changing their minds about transgenderism. Eric Kaufmann of the University of Buckingham’s Centre for Heterodox Social Science demonstrates that the percentage of college students who identify as transgender has dropped by almost 50% since 2023. More broadly, students are less inclined to identify as LGBTQ, with the most significant drops coming on the T and Q end of that spectrum. The younger the student, the less likely he or she is to identify as trans, indicating the decline in transgenderism will continue.

Interestingly, Kaufmann doesn’t see a correlation between these trends and decreased social media use, religious revival, a rightward political shift, or flagging support for wokeism. He does believe there is a correlation between improved mental health and the decline of transgenderism, though he cautions against reading too much into this, since mental health has improved for students who identify across the LGBTQ spectrum. Ultimately, Kaufmann compares the decline of transgenderism and queer identities to the fading of a fashion or trend. Simply put, identifying as trans is out of style. Kaufmann’s full findings are available in a white paper, which he has summarized in a shorter article and on X.

What are Christians to make of all this? First and foremost, we should rejoice that fewer young people are being drawn into transgenderism or thinking of themselves as queer. These identities are inconsistent with God’s design for His imager-bearers, and thus inconsistent with authentic human flourishing. Whatever the reasons for the shift, it is evidence of God’s common grace that more people are coming back to reality in matters of gender and sexuality.

To the degree Kaufmann is right that these trends are more akin to a change in fashion or taste than a larger worldview shift, we need to acknowledge that there is still work to. The vibe shifts of a society that is characterized by expressive individualism, though real, are not necessarily lasting. Christians and other social conservatives need to continue to point people to better ways to think about gender and sexuality that are consistent with Scripture and confirmed by science rightly understood.

Kaufmann is a social scientist who is reticent to draw connections between the decrease of trans and queer identification and other phenomena. But as believers, we know those same phenomena can and should be connected. A rightly ordered engagement with social media (and other media) will expose fewer people to sexually transgressive influencers, which will prevent more people from being infected with the social contagion of transgenderism and other aberrant gender identities. Politics is a moving target, but the longer the rightward shift continues, the more time it has to contribute to lasting change in laws, customs, and even trends.

Concerning the decrease in wokeism, while this may not play a large role in Kaufmann’s research model, there is considerable anecdotal evidence that young adults in many places are less socially progressive today than they were ten years ago. This is certainly what I’ve observed as a university professor and pastor in the Southeast, and my colleagues in other places often report similar observations. As for religious revival, only time will tell whether we are in the early days of a spiritual awakening. But this much is certain: as Christians, we should certainly pray for revival across our land. Lord willing, one of the fruits of that hoped-for revival would be a massive and lasting return to gender reality.