{"id":10535,"date":"2025-11-15T22:01:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T22:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=10535"},"modified":"2025-11-15T22:01:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T22:01:19","slug":"why-the-drop-in-trans-identity-isnt-a-cultural-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=10535","title":{"rendered":"Why the drop in trans identity isn\u2019t a cultural victory"},"content":{"rendered":"


By Peter Demos<\/span><\/span>, Op-ed contributor Thursday, November 13, 2025<\/span>Unsplash\/Serenity Mitchell<\/span><\/p>\n

A new cultural narrative is circulating: young Americans are \u201cturning away\u201d from trans, non-binary and other queer identities. <\/p>\n

According to Eric Kaufmann\u2019s report, \u201cThe Decline of Trans and Queer Identity among Young Americans,\u201d the share of college students identifying as a gender other than male or female dropped from 6.8 % in 2023 to 3.6% in 2025. \u00a0<\/p>\n

On its surface, the numbers\u00a0seem to reinforce\u00a0the idea that identity categories were once a trend and are now collapsing. But before we treat this as a cultural win, we need to ask: what kind of identity was this? And what is the underlying story behind the statistics?\u00a0<\/p>\n

After I read about this, I saw an X post by Kim Jones responding to an allegation by Ari Drennan, which claimed that a student was \u201ckicked off\u201d a women\u2019s sports team for being trans and implied that it caused the student\u2019s suicide.\u00a0(Ari\u00a0wrote\u00a0an article saying that the student quit after his\u00a0Freshman\u00a0year and thus was not kicked off the team\u00a0in spite of\u00a0his earlier social post.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kim\u2019s response condemned Ari for using a tragedy to emotionally blackmail women into surrendering privacy and fairness in sports, and I agree with her critique: tragedy should never be a weapon to hit people with. \u00a0<\/p>\n

But I also want to press deeper. Because what both hint at is a broader issue: identity itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kaufmann notes that part of the decline comes from improved mental health among young people, but he also highlights a broader cultural shift. The rapid rise in LGBT identification over the last decade was fueled in large part by peer influence and political fashion, and now that surge\u00a0appears to be\u00a0receding. Taken together, these trends suggest that shifts in self-identification reflect cultural currents more than lasting self-discovery, especially when layered on top of fragile mental health.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This raises a deeper question. Why should culture be the force that tells kids who they are in something as fundamental as gender? If acceptance alone brought peace, then belonging to clubs, sports\u00a0teams\u00a0or friend groups would be enough. Instead, many young people are pushed into adopting identities that\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0ultimately resolve\u00a0their struggles. The persistently high rates of attempted suicide among trans and non-binary youth make clear that external affirmation does not automatically lead to inner stability or peace.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When identity is built on self-identification or cultural categories, it becomes unstable. If one\u2019s sense of self depends on the category itself (trans, non-binary, queer), rather than on something deeper, then shifts in culture, affirmation or data will ripple into one\u2019s inner life. The Kaufmann report may show a decline in certain identity labels, but it doesn\u2019t show a surge in stable well-being or a firm replacement identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Christians, the anchor lies deeper: identity rooted in being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), being a child of God (John 1:12), becoming new in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). That identity doesn\u2019t rise and fall with cultural trends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the narrative is \u201cidentity labels are dropping so we must have turned the culture around,\u201d we risk celebrating too early and we risk missing the root issue. A sporting story or a social post may highlight a conflict of rights, but it is\u00a0ultimately about\u00a0identity, belonging,\u00a0stability\u00a0and purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s fairness in sports, the mental health of young people, and institutional policies all matter. But they are downstream from identity questions. If we don\u2019t provide an anchor for identity that withstands cultural shifts, then even a decline in one label doesn\u2019t guarantee well-being.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So,\u00a0what do we do?\u00a0<\/p>\n