arts, ideas & societyOur World in Data1984 · Western Europe and United States
In 1984 most people in Britain and Spain said homosexuality was rarely justified; attitudes have shifted sharply since
Forty years ago, most people in many rich countries held very negative views of homosexuality. In 1984, about one in three Dutch people said it was never or rarely justified, while in Spain and Great Britain a majority held that view. Three-quarters of Americans agreed. Opinion has moved a long way since then across Western Europe and the United States, with the change most visible among younger generations and in countries with wider legal equality. Survey data like this shows how quickly social norms can shift within a single generation.
Attitudes change through a mix of generational replacement, where older people with stronger views are replaced by younger cohorts, and through people changing their minds as they meet openly gay friends, relatives and public figures. Laws and media portrayals also reinforce social norms over time.
The change is a clear example of how public attitudes can move far faster than most people expect. It shows that norms once treated as fixed can be reshaped within a generation, which is useful context for understanding other shifts in social values.
Researchers who track survey data across decades have found that many social attitudes, from interracial marriage to gender roles, have changed quickly once a critical mass of people start to revise their views.
