A large proportion of Dutch young people believe you should not be allowed to fall in love with just anyone
More than forty per cent of Dutch young people do not consider LGBTIQ+ individuals to be equal to heterosexual individuals. This is revealed by a large-scale UvA study published today, the main conclusion of which is that Dutch young people are divided in their views on LGBTIQ+.
The majority of Dutch young people believe that everyone is equal, regardless of who you fall in love with. Furthermore, 65 per cent of young people believe that you should be free to choose who you fall in love with. A significant proportion of young people do not agree with this. This is evident from a study in which UvA researchers examined the views of 31,000 secondary school pupils on LGBTIQ+LGBTIQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. The + stands for other gender identities, including intersex, asexual and pansexual. for the first time.
When the statements become more specific, young people appear even more conservative. For instance, 61 per cent of young people reacted negatively to the statement “At least half of the toilets at school should be gender-neutral”, and only 32 per cent of young people think it is a good idea to celebrate Purple Friday in all schools (28 per cent are neutral on this).
Girls slightly more conservative
The researchers asked secondary school pupils about their views between 2021 and 2024. A slight shift towards more conservative views can be seen, particularly among girls. Dekker: “That difference is very small; generally speaking, views have remained largely stable. Boys also remain more conservative in their views than girls.”
The strongest predictors explaining young people’s conservative views turned out to be gender, a general degree of conservatism and religion. Muslim and Christian young people hold more conservative views than non-religious young people. Remarkably, migration background and age appeared to play no role.
Problematic
Lead researcher and UvA PhD candidate Nikki Dekker describes the results as remarkable. “In a pluralistic society, a variety of views is healthy, and the fact that young people do not want gender-neutral toilets is not immediately a problem; that is something you can discuss. But when it comes to equality and the right to choose whom you fall in love with, these results are problematic.”
This is, in fact, at odds with the statutory civic education mandate, according to Dekker. The law obliges schools to actively contribute to the development of pupils into citizens who respect differences, such as gender and sexual diversity. Dekker: “Schools should pay more attention to the different attitudes of pupils and engage in dialogue about this.”
Homosexuality increasingly less accepted
The research was prompted by a disturbing report from the Amsterdam Municipal Health Service (GGD Amsterdam) in 2023, which revealed that fewer and fewer young people consider homosexuality to be normal. This led to parliamentary questions, following which the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) commissioned a study into young people’s views on LGBTIQ+, carried out by researchers at the University of Amsterdam (UvA).
Last year, the first part of that study was published, concluding that the decline in acceptance of homosexuality is not a national trend. Over the past fifteen years, acceptance of homosexuality among young people has actually risen at the national level. It is only in certain regions, such as Amsterdam and the Gooi and Vechtstreek, that acceptance has declined since 2019.
Manosphere
Researchers are not yet able to explain why acceptance is declining in some regions. There is already plenty of speculation that influencers such as Andrew Tate may be playing a role in this. They use social media to spread conservative ideas about the so-called “manosphere”, where the traditional role of men is glorified.
“Social media does indeed play a major role among young people,” says Dekker. “But so does the wider environment: the views of friends, parents and classmates are decisive. However, research into whether the manosphere influences young people is still lacking.”
That research is scheduled for the third and final phase of the study, independent of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. In this phase, the researchers will examine how content on social media regarding the manosphere and feminism influences young people’s attitudes. The national data has already been collected, and the results are expected in 2027.
