Play fair: the impact of issue framing on attitudes toward transgender youth participation in sports

Introduction Policies restricting sports participation by transgender youth have spread across the United States. The Trump administration has also taken a variety of executive actions to ban participation by transgender athletes. Methods Little research has examined how issue framing affects attitudes toward these policies. Some LGBT advocates recommend emphasizing egalitarian and loss-based arguments, as well as acknowledging discomfort regarding transgender youth. We investigate whether these strategies affect Americans’ attitudes on transgender participation in sports. Results Using a survey sample of American adults, we find that egalitarian frames have a marginal effect on respondents’ attitudes.