A new YouGov tracker has found that British adults are becoming more likely to say it is acceptable to make jokes about gay people.
The biannual YouGov tracker, titled “Do Brits think it’s acceptable to make jokes about gay people?”, includes data from August 2019 through to January 2026. Each wave surveyed between 1,963 and 2,048 British adults.
Participants were asked: “Which, if any, of the following identity groups do you think it is acceptable to make jokes about? Please select all that apply.”
For the category “gay people”, respondents could choose from four options: “acceptable only if you identify with this group yourself”, “acceptable regardless of whether or not you identify with this group”, “unacceptable regardless of whether or not you identify with this group”, or “don’t know”.
In 2019, 25% of respondents said jokes about gay people were “acceptable regardless of whether or not you identify with this group”.
By January 2026, that figure had risen to 30%.
The data also shows a decline in the number of people who say jokes about gay people are unacceptable regardless of identity.
In 2019, 40% of respondents said gay jokes were “unacceptable regardless of whether or not you identify with this group”. By 2026, that had dropped to 36%, the lowest score recorded since the tracker began.
The highest figure was 42%, recorded in 2020 and 2021.
Together, the results suggest British adults are becoming more comfortable with the idea of jokes about gay people being acceptable, regardless of whether the person making the joke is LGBTQ+.
Men more likely than women to say gay jokes are acceptable
The trend is visible across both men and women, but the gap between the two groups remains stark.
In 2019, 38% of men said jokes about gay people were “acceptable regardless of whether or not you identify with this group”. By 2026, that figure had risen to 43%, the highest score recorded for men in the tracker.
Among women, the figure rose from 14% in 2019 to 18% in 2026.
The data also shows differences by age.
Older respondents were more likely to say gay jokes were unacceptable, with 45% of those aged 65 and over selecting “unacceptable regardless of whether or not you identify with this group”.
That compares with 36% of those aged 50 to 64, 33% of those aged 25 to 49, and 25% of those aged 18 to 24.
Concerns about rising homophobia
The findings come amid wider concern about homophobia and transphobia in the UK.
Recent Department for Education data has shown a sharp rise in school suspensions linked to homophobic and transphobic bullying in England, alongside increases in racist and ableist abuse.
For LGBTQ+ advocates, the YouGov findings raise a familiar concern: jokes about marginalised groups do not exist in a vacuum.
While humour can be playful, affectionate or self-aware, it can also normalise prejudice, especially when directed at communities already facing hostility.
The tracker does not measure whether respondents think jokes are harmless, cruel or contextual. But the direction of travel is clear: more British adults are willing to say jokes about gay people are acceptable, while fewer are willing to say they are unacceptable.
At a time when anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is rising in politics, schools and online spaces, that shift is unlikely to reassure queer communities.
