Most Americans Agree: You Can’t Change Your Sex | Jonathan Butcher

Feb 18, 2026

Jonathan Butcher, acting director at The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy and author of The Polarization Myth, discusses survey findings showing surprising majorities on hot-button issues. He covers public views on biological sex and gender in schools, opposition to racial preferences in college, the pushback against DEI, and the idea that loud minorities, not most Americans, drive the culture-war narrative.

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INSIGHT

Majority Rejects Sex-Change Narrative

A broad majority of Americans reject the idea that sex can be changed and support biological sex distinctions.
Jonathan Butcher finds a shared national identity on sex and gender issues contrary to loud activist narratives.

INSIGHT

Public Leans Toward Merit Over Racial Preferences

Americans prefer merit-based decisions over racial preferences in admissions and promotions.
Butcher's survey and Pew data show majority opposition to using race as a primary determinant in opportunity allocation.

ADVICE

Teach Character And Virtue In Schools

Teach virtue and character in schools because parents overwhelmingly support it.
Jonathan Butcher recommends focusing on courage, self-control, wisdom and honesty as civic foundations.

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How polarized are Americans really? Are we really on the “brink of civil war” as some suggest?

That’s what I wanted to find out when I sat down with Jonathan Butcher, author of the recently released book “The Polarization Myth: America’s Surprising Consensus on Race, Schools, and Sex.”

“When we hear the term polarization, it makes us think that there’s 50% on one side and 50% on the other side. But that’s not what’s going on,” says Butcher, who is acting director of The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy.

Butcher conducted a survey of more than 2,000 Americans and asked participants for their opinions on contentious cultural and political issues.

What did he find? Contrary to what Americans are constantly told on social media and in legacy media, there is no deep divide on the issues that drive the so-called culture wars, he says. His survey found the following:

-Biological sex: A majority of respondents maintain that sex is unchanging -Gender and schools: 61% oppose teaching young children that they can change their “gender” -Sexual content in schools: 69% do not support access in schools to books that depict sexual activity -College admissions: 52% oppose the use of racial preferences in college admissions, which are central to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs

The culture war, Butcher concludes from his survey findings, is a narrative propagated by a small faction of radical activists and amplified by the media to instill fear.

“It’s really like a majority of Americans and … a small minority of activists on the other [side] that just have a very loud voice,” he says.

The survey responses, he told me, also show a surprising degree of consensus among Americans on basic principles and core beliefs.

For example, he found that a large majority of survey respondents want their children to be taught about virtue and character at school. More than half favor increased civics education.

“The important thing to remind Americans is that on the issues, they’re not alone. If [you] think that individuals should be judged, promoted, accepted to school based on their merit instead of their skin color, right, you’re not alone. You’re not alone if you think that we should be protecting women from men accessing their bathrooms or locker rooms,” he says.

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.