Utrecht University and the Trimbos Institute reported in 2025 that acceptance of homosexuality among Dutch adolescents aged 12 to 16 fell sharply across the country. The survey in the Netherlands found that just 22% of boys and 51% of girls now expressed a positive view of homosexuality, down from 40% and 78% respectively in 2021. Last update: 22 September 2026
Why the 2025 HBSC findings matter
The 2025 data represent the most rapid reversal in acceptance recorded in the Europe-wide Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) series and signal a broader change in school climates and adolescent wellbeing. Declines in reported acceptance coincide with drops in confidence that a gay or lesbian classmate could speak openly about their orientation, which fell from 60% to 45%. The figures matter for educators, policymakers and child-health services because they correlate with rising reports of bullying and deteriorating mental-health indicators among young people.
Survey details and demographic patterns
The HBSC questionnaire asked respondents whether they thought being gay or lesbian was “normal” or “acceptable.” The 2025 wave showed a near-halving of acceptance among boys, from 40% in 2021 to 22% in 2025, and a fall among girls from 78% to 51%. The decline was observed across socioeconomic brackets, migration backgrounds and school tracks such as VWO and VMBO indicating a broad-based trend rather than an effect limited to particular subgroups. Researchers coordinating the Dutch component were led by Professor Gonneke Stevens of Utrecht University.
Online influences and the manosphere
Researchers linked part of the downward shift to the growing prominence of the manosphere an online ecosystem of podcasts, forums and short-form videos that promote hyper-masculine ideals and often cast LGBT people as outsiders. Professor Stevens noted the timing of increased exposure to such content and the decline in acceptance: “The fact is that in recent years young people have been exposed to these views and that in the same period they have taken a more negative view of homosexuality,” she said. The research team recorded extensive use of platforms like TikTok with 45% of girls and 33% of boys reporting near-continuous use, which researchers view as a plausible channel for the spread of hostile narratives.
Political and civil-society responses
Political leaders and advocacy groups reacted swiftly to the HBSC findings. Prime Minister Rob Jetten who plans to marry his partner Nicolás Keenan next year, described the figures as “shocking” and warned that social-media firms could face greater pressure to curb harmful content. The LGBT advocacy group COC led by director Marie Ricardo called the trend a “frightening development”; Ricardo said, “We badly need the young generation for a free country in which everyone can be themselves.” The combination of political alarm and activist pressure has put online content moderation and school-based inclusion back on the national agenda.
Legal disputes and school climate incidents
The cultural debate has produced legal confrontation. Conservative Catholic organisation Civitas Christiana targeted children’s author Pim Lammers over a novel featuring a same-sex couple; Lammers received death threats and went into hiding. The organisation also prepared a defamatory “black book” alleging that specific groups were “sexualising” children; legal action by sex-education provider Rutgers secured an injunction preventing publication that was upheld on appeal in May. These court rulings represent a contested legal front in the struggle over inclusive sex education and school materials.
Beyond discrete incidents, schools reported rising incidents of bullying linked to perceived sexual orientation and growing parental resistance to visible inclusion measures such as raising rainbow flags or celebrating Purple Friday. Researchers link this climate to reduced feelings of safety for LGBT pupils and to wider adolescent mental-health trends.
Mental health and broader trends cited by researchers
The HBSC wave also highlighted deteriorating wellbeing among Dutch adolescents, particularly female respondents who reported elevated emotional problems in prior survey waves. Researchers and public-health experts cited multiple stressors — including academic pressure, pervasive social-media use and societal anxieties such as climate change and housing insecurity — as contributing factors that intersect with increasing intolerance. Institutions involved in the study emphasised that while the exact causal chain remains under investigation, the convergence of online hostile narratives, politicised debates and backlash against comprehensive sex education has created conditions in which acceptance has fallen sharply.
