8.6a Social Change Regarding LGBTQ Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court has heard several cases affecting LGBTQ people (see Figure 8.9) and has also declined to hear related cases. These decisions have added rights of LGBTQ people to marry, protected them from being fired because of sexual orientation or transgender status, overturned sodomy laws, and prevented governments from passing laws taking away the rights of LGBTQ people.
Figure 8.9
United States Supreme Court Decisions about LGBTQ Rights, 1986 – 2020
Based on James, I. (2020, August 9). A beginner’s guide and brief history of lgbtq rights cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. GLAAD. https://www.glaad.org/amp/beginner-guide-and-brief-history-lgbtq-rights-cases-united-states-supreme-court; Law, T. (2019, October 8). 9 Landmark Supreme Court cases that shaped LGBTQ rights in America. Time. https://time.com/5694518/lgbtq-supreme-court-cases/.
The law, therefore, can be a source of social change, although it may or may not lead to changes in social norms or attitudes. Tankard and Paluck (2017) found that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) shifted social norms but not necessarily individual opinions. However, the General Social Survey finds that attitudes about sexual minoritized people have improved (see Figure 8.10). Attitudes about same-sex sexual relationships slowly became more positive between 1973 and 2010 but have increased more quickly since 2010, with the result that more U.S. adults now hold favorable views of same-sex sexual relationships.
Figure 8.10
Percentage of U.S. Adults Who Agree It Is Not Wrong At All for Same-Sex Adults to Have Sexual Relations, 1973-2024
Based on data from Davern, M., Bautista, R., Freese, J., Herd, P., & Morgan, S. L. (2024). General Social Surveys, 1972-2021. NORC. gssdataexplorer.norc.org. Copyright 2024 by NORC.
Continued growing acceptance of same-sex sexual relationships is not a given, as Figure 8.10 shows. It is unknown if attitudes will continue to decline or if 2024 was an outlier. Since same-sex marriage became legal in the United States in 2015, some groups have focused on promoting greater acceptance related to gender diversity. Other groups have promoted more restrictions related to gender diversity and transgender people. Recent research indicates that 66% of U.S. adults believe there are only two genders and firmly hold this view (Schnabel, 2025). These attitudes are strongly correlated with religious affiliation. Most (92%) White Evangelical Protestants oppose gender diversity (1%), sexual diversity (33%), or both (58%) (Schnabel, 2025). In contrast, less than half (45%) of Jewish people feel similarly, with 1% opposing gender diversity, 29% opposing sexual diversity, and only 15% opposing both.
Scholars speculate that now that same-sex marriage is legal and has broad public support, attention has shifted toward expanding or restricting gender diversity who make up less than 1% of the U.S. population (Schnabel, 2025; Anderson et al., 2021). This shift can be seen in the flurry of recent laws across the United States affecting transgender people. These include state laws prohibiting transgender people from using public bathrooms that reflect their gender identity in 19 states (Movement Advancement Project, 2025b) and bans on transgender girls taking part in girls’ sports in schools in 29 states (though five states have lawsuits challenging these laws) (Movement Advancement Project, 2025a).
Photo 8.16
Elliot Page is an Accomplished Actor Who Came Out as a Trans Man in 2020
2023 National Book Festival [Photograph], by Library of Congress, 2023, Wikimedia. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=137027161 CC0 1.0.
Overall, social change can be directed at expanding or restricting a group’s rights. Public opinion may change before or after the law changes. Moreover, public opinion and the law are only two of many factors related to social change. Social movement organizations also play a key role (see Chapter 10).