A majority of British youths would not mind seeing Father Christmas depicted as gay, black, or female, while the older generation prefers a more traditional Santa, a new poll suggests.
“Age is the key factor among the wider public, with the youngest Britons – those aged 18-24 – supporting a gay Santa by 60% to 20%,” reads a report by YouGov, which conducted the poll on December 14-15.
Findings show that the majority of Britons older than 65 “cannot tolerate a homosexual Father Christmas, by 58% to 24%.”
The general population seems to be divided on the matter with slightly more respondents – 41% to 39% – still preferring Santa as a straight man.
A significantly bigger gap can be seen in the numbers of those who think Father Christmas could actually be a mom, and those who want him to remain male. Some 54% of 1,714 adult Brits who took part in the survey are not prepared to accept a female Santa, although this figure rises in older groups, with only 27% supporting the idea. The younger Brits are much more tolerant: 45% are OK with Santa being depicted as a woman, while 31% are not.
Regarding a non-white Santa, the general UK population seems to be less accepting, not only compared to the youngest age group, but also to Americans who were polled by YouGov last year: only half of Britons (49-53%) say it’s fine for him to belong to any ethnicity other than white.
“By contrast, in the USA two thirds (67%) were accepting of a Black Santa, and 58-60% were comfortable with an Asian or Middle-Eastern Kris Kringle,” the researchers said.
The survey was conducted in response to a Norwegian postal service advert depicting Santa as a gay man.
