The Left would have us believe that the societal descent toward normalized sexual deviance is inevitable — part of the unavoidable “progress” toward diversity, inclusivity, equality, and democracy.
But recent shifts suggest that the Left’s LGBT-friendly moral order is much more fragile than they would have us think.
One place where the culture is turning away from LGBT absolutism is Russia. According to a survey published by independent sociological research company Russian Field, the overall attitude of the Russian people toward the LGBT community has become more negative over recent years.
As reported by Russia Today, the last decade has seen a notable rise in the number of Russians who believe the “rights” of LGBT individuals should be restricted. Specifically, 62 percent of respondents this year expressed support for limiting “gay rights” and 55 percent supported restricting “transgender rights.”
By contrast, per previous polling, only 42 percent of Russians in 2021 opposed “gay rights,” while that number was still lower — down at only 19 percent — in 2013.
The poll surveyed 1,600 people throughout Russia and asked about their association with “traditional values” and “European values,” as well as about their feelings regarding LGBT.
The surveyor used “European values” to refer to “freedom, democracy, tolerance, LGBTQ, homosexuality, and same-sex marriage.”
The majority of those who took the poll said they aligned with traditional Russian values such as “patriotism, family, respect for elders, love for your country, Orthodox Christian faith, freedom, and justice,” though Russian Field did not specify the exact percentage of those who gave this answer. A number of respondents said they were “disgusted” by “European values.”
Russia Today further reported:
Asked what sort of limitations should exist for LGBTQ people, 25% of respondents said they should be barred from promoting their sexual preferences, 13% said they should not be allowed to publicly display their feelings in the form of hugs and kisses, and 11% went as far as to suggest that they should be expelled from the country.
The poll noted that demands to limit LGBTQ rights predominantly came from people over 45 years old. At the same time, nearly a quarter of respondents also insisted that Russia does not legally repress the individual rights of LGBTQ members.
Russia has been the site of increased restrictions on the promotion of LGBT ideology to children. The first big reform was in 2013, when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning “LGBT propaganda” aimed at minors. And last year, Putin signed a law that slaps heavy fines on anyone found guilty of promoting “non-traditional sexual relations,” pedophilia, and transgenderism through media such as film, books, and the internet.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has spearheaded similar measures in his country. Orbán and his Fidesz Party have passed legislation prohibiting LGBT and trans propaganda from being presented to minors.
Despite pushback from the Left, Orbán has remained firm, defending the laws with the argument that “education in schools must not be in conflict with the will of parents; it must at most be supplementary, its form and content must be clearly defined and it must be subject to parental consent” and that “parents also rightly expect that on platforms used by our children, pornography, sexuality for its own sake, homosexuality and gender reassignment programs should not be available.”
And this year, Uganda made waves when it passed a law that enacts the death penalty for those guilty of “aggravated homosexuality,” which is defined as acts that include sexual relations with children and the spreading of HIV to others.
But the trend away from unconditional LGBT acceptance is not only taking place abroad. The United States is likewise the site of a growing backlash against the LGBT agenda.
As noted by NBC News, 17 states have enacted more than 30 LGBT-related education laws this year, which impact the 2023-2024 school year. These include laws that restrict discussion of LGBT issues, conduct reviews to prevent the presence of sexually explicit materials on school campuses, ban students from engaging in sports teams belonging to the opposite sex under the guise of “transgenderism,” and banning educators from using student pronouns that do not align with the students’ biological sex.
Such laws are opposed by the teachers unions, including the National Education Association — the largest labor union in the country.
“We are in a moment where our students are under assault, teachers and other educators are under assault, parents are under assault,” NEA president Becky Pringle told NBC News. “People are afraid. They’re afraid for their livelihood. They’re afraid for their lives.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has signed legislation to crack down on LGBT indoctrination in his state, responded bluntly to the criticism from the left: “We never did this through all of human history until like, what, two weeks ago? Now this is something, they’re having third graders declare pronouns. We’re not doing the pronoun Olympics in Florida. It’s not happening here.”
