Number of Young Americans Identifying as Trans or ‘Queer’ Drops Sharply — Study Calls It a “Fading Trend”

A new academic study has confirmed what many conservatives have long argued: the transgender and “queer” boom among young Americans wasn’t a permanent cultural shift — it was a passing trend.

The Centre for Heterodox Social Science (CHSS) released a report showing that after years of explosive growth in LGBT identification, the numbers are now in steep decline. The findings suggest that the wave of gender and sexuality experimentation that swept through schools, universities, and social media in the 2010s and early 2020s may finally be subsiding.

Trans and Queer Identification in Freefall

According to the report, the number of college students identifying as transgender has fallen nearly 50 percent since its 2023 peak. That year, about 7 percent of students claimed a trans identity. Today, that figure is below 4 percent — and falling.

The researchers added a telling observation: “Today’s freshmen are less BTQ+ than seniors, suggesting that decline will continue.”

Colleges, once viewed as hotbeds of leftist ideology and gender radicalism, now appear to be the first places showing signs of reversal.

Kaufmann: “Like the Fading of a Fashion or Trend”

Political scientist and conservative commentator Eric Kaufmann summarized the report’s findings in a viral thread on X that garnered millions of views.

Among the key takeaways he shared was that gay and lesbian identification has remained stable, while the more fluid “queer,” “questioning,” and “nonconforming” categories have collapsed.

“Non-conforming sexual identity (queer, questioning, etc.) is also in sharp decline,” Kaufmann wrote. “Gay and lesbian are stable while heterosexuality has rebounded by around 10 points since 2023.”

He also noted that the drop in transgenderism doesn’t appear tied to a resurgence of religion — a point that undermines the left’s typical narrative about “Christian nationalism” shaping youth behavior.

In Kaufmann’s words: “The fall of trans and queer seems most similar to the fading of a fashion or trend. It happened largely independently of shifts in political beliefs and social media use, though improved mental health played a role.”

Mental Health, Not Politics, Behind the Shift

The CHSS report echoed Kaufmann’s assessment:

“Trans, queer and bisexual identities are in rapid decline among young educated Americans. This does not appear to be the result of a shift to the right, the return of religion or a rejection of woke culture war attitudes.”

The researchers added that while gender identity is often associated with progressive politics, the broader trend away from trans and queer identification seems detached from ideology — and instead linked to improving mental health.

“Improving mental health, however, appears to be part of the explanation for the decline of BTQ+ identification,” the report concluded.

A Cultural Turning Point

The data paints a striking picture: a generation that once embraced radical identity politics is beginning to step back from it. As the cultural pendulum swings, many young Americans appear to be rediscovering stability, reality, and self-acceptance — without the need for ideological labels.

If the trend continues, the “gender revolution” that once seemed unstoppable may end not with a bang, but with quiet disinterest from the very youth who were expected to carry it forward.