Attitudes to same-sex relationships and sex out of wedlock have “reached a point of plateau”, a major survey has suggested.
Research conducted as part of the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey found that the liberalisation of attitudes appears to have levelled off in recent years.
The survey has been conducted periodically since the early 1980s to gauge long-term comparison of British attitudes to a variety of subjects.
However, questions relating to LGBTQ issues have only been included recently.
Of the nearly 3,000 people polled, 74% said pre-marital sexual relations were “not wrong at all”, down from 75% the previous two years.
It also marked the first drop since falling from 63% in 2005 to 60% the following year, indicating the growing acceptance of sex out of wedlock has been stymied.
Similarly, 66% of those polled in 2018 said same-sex relations were “not wrong at all”, down from 68% the previous year.
This was the first fall since 1987, when it was at 11%, down from 12% in the previous survey.
Researchers predict there is “still some way to go” in terms of people’s attitudes towards members of the transgender community, however.
Figures released on Thursday show more than four-fifths of the population (83%) state they are “not prejudiced at all” towards transgender people, compared with just 15% who describe themselves as “very” or “a little” prejudiced.
But only 49% said they viewed prejudice against transgender people as “always” wrong, while 6% said it was “rarely” or “never” wrong.
Nancy Kelley, deputy chief executive of the National Centre for Social Research which carried out the study, told PA: “In 1983, people would have been happy to say they are not comfortable with same-sex relations. Obviously, attitudes have changed quite a lot since then.
“I think it’s reasonable to assume that we will see that same liberalisation as we saw in attitudes to gay and lesbian people with the trans community as the public becomes more accustomed to it.”
