Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future

by Jean M. Twenge

Trans identification increased nearly as much in 2014–2021 among young adults in red states like Ohio, Wyoming, and Texas as it did in blue states like California, New York, and Oregon (see Figure 6.8). Rural vs. urban location also didn’t make much difference. In the 2021–2022 Household Pulse Survey, the percentage of trans Gen Z’ers was about the same in rural areas (2.2%) as in urban/suburban areas (1.9%). There was also no difference in the percentage of transgender young adults in liberal big cities (like New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco) versus the rest of the country. Thus the rise in trans identification seems to be national rather than regional, killing off yet another theory. Overall, there’s no easy or verifiable answer to why the changes are so sudden and so much larger among young adults compared to older ones, and why the change is the largest among those assigned female at birth. No matter what the cause, it’s clear that the culture around gender has shifted, and Gen Z is at the forefront of that change.