
Podcast host Joe Rogan recently discussed a shift in how young people identify in terms of gender, pointing to a decline in the number of individuals identifying as nonbinary or transgender.
During an episode of his podcast, Rogan connected the timing of the decline with changes in online discussion following Elon Musk’s purchase of the social media platform X.
Rogan suggested that once users were able to speak more openly on social media platforms about gender identity and related topics, public discussion expanded and perceptions began to shift.
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“Have you ever seen like how people identifying as nonbinary and trans dropped off right after @elonmusk’s purchase of Twitter?” Rogan said during the conversation.
Rogan also argued that increased online discussion contributed to the change.
“It’s because people got a chance to talk about it, criticize it, put up memes and call it a mental illness again.”
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Recent research has documented a decline in the share of young Americans identifying as transgender or nonbinary.
The Manhattan Institute published a report in 2025 examining changes in gender and sexual identity among members of Generation Z.
The report, titled “The Decline of Trans and Queer Identity among Young Americans,” analyzed data collected from surveys of college students and other young adults.
According to the findings, both transgender and queer identification among Gen Z has dropped significantly since 2023.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which conducts a large annual survey of U.S. undergraduates, surveyed more than 60,000 college students in 2025.
Data from that survey showed that 3.6 percent of respondents identified as a gender other than male or female.
That figure represents a notable decline from previous years. In 2024, 5.2 percent of surveyed students identified as a gender other than male or female.
In both 2022 and 2023, the share was 6.8 percent.
Researchers analyzing the FIRE survey data said the numbers indicate the proportion of students identifying as transgender or nonbinary has dropped significantly in a short period of time.
The report found that the change has been especially noticeable at certain educational institutions.
Phillips Academy Andover, a private preparatory school located in suburban Boston, conducts annual surveys of a large portion of its student body.
In 2023, the school reported that 9.2 percent of students surveyed identified as neither male nor female.
By 2025, that number had declined to 3 percent.
Similar changes have appeared at Brown University. According to survey data referenced in the Manhattan Institute analysis, 5 percent of Brown students identified as nonbinary in both 2022 and 2023. By 2025, that figure had fallen to 2.6 percent.
The data cited in the report indicates that identification rates among young Americans have shifted over the last several years, particularly within Generation Z.
Rogan’s comments on his podcast focused on how public discussion of gender identity has evolved on social media platforms.
He argued that changes in how people communicate online may have influenced broader cultural conversations surrounding gender identity.
The Manhattan Institute report did not attribute the decline to any single cause but noted that the data shows a clear reduction in the number of young people identifying as transgender or nonbinary over the past two years.
Researchers examining the survey results pointed to the magnitude of the change, noting that the share of students identifying as transgender or nonbinary has declined by roughly half since the earlier peak.
The FIRE survey continues to track attitudes and identity trends among college students across the United States.
The organization’s annual survey has become one of the largest ongoing datasets examining student views on speech, identity, and campus culture.
The Manhattan Institute analysis used those results to highlight changes that have occurred in a relatively short period of time among younger Americans.
Rogan’s remarks added to a broader discussion about how online speech, cultural debates, and social attitudes may influence public perception on issues related to gender identity.
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