This is especially true on college and university campuses, where fads like this become all the rage and infect entire student bodies.
"New survey data from Brown University’s student newspaper provides further evidence that the increase in LGBT identification is driven by social pressures," the Washington Examiner's Restoring America site noted.
Recent data reveals a significant increase in LGBTQ+ identification within Brown's student body, nearly tripling between 2010 and 2023. Back in 2010, only 14 percent of students at Brown identified as non-heterosexual, whereas the figure has now risen to 38 percent.
"The Herald’s Spring 2023 poll found that 38% of students do not identify as straight — over five times the national rate," The Brown Daily Herald reported. "Over the past decade, LGBTQ+ identification has increased across the nation, with especially sharp growth at Brown."
There have also been huge increases in the number of students who identify in a variety of sexual orientations. "Since Fall 2010, Brown’s LGBTQ+ population has expanded considerably. The gay or lesbian population has increased by 26% and the percentage of students identifying as bisexual has increased by 232%," the student newspaper reported. "Students identifying as other sexual orientations within the LGBTQ+ community have increased by 793%."
The concept of considering LGBT identification as a social contagion remains a subject of criticism among scholars. One notable instance involved the editor-in-chief of an academic journal who faced a cancellation attempt after publishing a paper supporting the theory of Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria. Additionally, a professor from Northwestern University, who authored the paper, also became a target of cancellation efforts.
So in other words, leftists are doing what they always do: They refuse to debate topics or accept any scholarly research that does not support their worldview, so they try to intimidate opposing viewpoints into silence.
Restoring American noted further:
Coincidentally, Dr. Lisa Littman, who popularized the idea of Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria, once taught at Brown University before being forced out over the controversy.
Dr. Littman argued that some girls who identified as transgender were doing so due to peer pressure from within their social circles. The 38% identification tracks with research from the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, which found similar levels among elite colleges. The researcher on that project, Eric Kaufmann, noted in comments to the College Fix that his research has found sexual behavior has not kept pace with the identification. In other words, bisexual identification outstrips bisexual sexual activity.
"If this was about people feeling able to come out, then we should have seen these two trends rise together," he told the College Fix. "What we find instead is that identity is rising much faster than behavior, indicating that people with occasional rather than sustained feelings of attraction to the opposite sex are increasingly identifying as LGBT."
Expressing one's non-heterosexuality is seen as fashionable and garners social approval. However, the controversy surrounding the influence of social pressure on LGBTQ+ identification stems primarily from the protected status of the group.
Nonetheless, the recognition of peer pressure's impact on our behaviors and lifestyles is acknowledged in other areas that are less contentious. Consequently, if teenagers can influence each other to engage in certain actions, it is plausible that they can also exert influence to encourage LGBTQ+ identification, Restoring America noted.
For instance, the American Lung Association highlights that marketing, peer influence, and witnessing parental smoking can contribute to increased rates of smoking. Similarly, "peer relationships" have been associated with alcohol abuse and drug use. On a positive note, peer support groups have shown effectiveness in weight loss and debt reduction endeavors.
"Social pressure is encouraging at least some people to identify as gay, bisexual, or transgender and the Brown University survey is further evidence of that theory," the outlet added.
Our society is sick and it doesn't look much like things are going to change anytime soon as long as leftists retain even a modicum of power in our societies.
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