What Percentage of the Populatn Is Gay?

Contents:

• HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR?
• AMERINS STILL GREATLY OVERTIMATE U.S. GAY POPULATN
• WHAT PERCENT OF THE POPULATN IS GAY? MORE THAN YOU THK
• WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY?
• AMERINS VASTLY OVERTIMATE SIZE OF GAY POPULATN, GALLUP POLL REVEALS
• STRONG MUNY BELONGG MORAT POOR MENTAL HEALTH LBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL DIVIDUALS LIVG CANADA: AN TERSECTNAL ANALYSIS OF A NATNAL POPULATN-BASED SURVEY
• AMERINS GREATLY OVERTIMATE PERCENT GAY, LBIAN U.S.
• A GAY UPLE RAN A RAL RTRANT PEACE. THEN NEW NEIGHBORS ARRIVED.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR?

Increasg numbers of populatn-based surveys the Uned Stat and across the world clu qutns that allow for an timate of the size of the lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) populatn. Conversely, gay men prise substantially more than half of gay and bisexual men seven of the ne surveys.

Unrstandg the size of the lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) populatn is a cril first step to rmg a host of public policy and rearch topics.

In measurg sexual orientatn, lbian, gay, and bisexual dividuals may be intified strictly based on their self-inty or may be possible to nsir same-sex sexual behavr or sexual attractn. Fdgs shown Figure 1 nsir timat of the percentage of adults who self-intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual across ne surveys nducted wh the past seven years.

AMERINS STILL GREATLY OVERTIMATE U.S. GAY POPULATN

While the surveys show a fairly wi variatn the overall percentage of adults who intify as LGB, the proportn who intify as lbian/gay vers bisexual is somewhat more nsistent (see Figure 2). The Natnal Survey of Fay Growth found rults that were sentially the oppose of the UK survey wh only 38% intifyg as lbian or gay pared to 62% intifyg as bisexual. The Natnal Survey of Sexual Health and Behavr and the Atralian Longudal Study of Health and Relatnships both found a majory of rponnts (55% and 59%, rpectively) intifyg as surveys show even greater nsistency differenc between men and women associated wh lbian/gay vers bisexual inty.

Wh the surveys, a larger actn of adults report same-sex attractns and behavrs than self-intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual (see Figure 4). In 2002, Gallup asked Amerins to timate the proportn of men and women who are gay or lbian, rpectively.

As Gallup poted out s ial timate of the entire LGBT populatn 2012, "Exactly who mak up the LGBT muny and how this group should be measured is a subject of some bate, " and "there are a number of ways to measure lbian, gay, and bisexual orientatn, and transgenr stat.

WHAT PERCENT OF THE POPULATN IS GAY? MORE THAN YOU THK

" Th, Gallup's methodology is not the only way to timate the percentage of the populatn that is gay or lbian. Are far lower than what the public timat, and no measurement procre has produced any figur suggtg that more than one out of five Amerins are gay or lbian. Among polil partisans, Democrats and pennts timate that about a quarter of Amerins are gay or lbian, while the average approximatn among Republins is a b lower (18.

It is, therefore, possible that Amerins' perceptns of the gay populatn may be fluenced by the greater reprentatn they see among young people. The most important takeaway isn’t a fal tally of the gay people society, but, rather, an unrstandg of the ways which surveys and other existg attempts to measure such thgs might be slightly misleadg. “The rults show non-heterosexualy and anti-gay sentiment are substantially unrtimated existg surveys, and the privacy afford by current bt practic is not always sufficient to elimate bias, ” note the rearchers, who were jt lookg at the way surveys might unr-unt both homosexualy and attus toward homosexualy.

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY?

In his 1948 book, Sexual Behavr the Human Male, Aled Ksey shocked the world by announcg that 10% of the male populatn is gay. A 1993 Jan Report timated that ne percent of men and five percent of women had more than "ocsnal" homosexual relatnships. But when Gallup asked Amerins for their bt timate of the Amerin gay and lbian populatn, the rults ma all the figur mentned above look nservative.

In Augt 2002*, Gallup asked Amerins, an open-end format, to timate the percentage of Amerin men and the percentage of Amerin women who are homosexual. Male rponnts tend to give lower timat of both the male and female homosexual populatn than female rponnts do. Before the 1980s, the few reprentatns of homosexualy popular culture tend to nsist of potentially dangero social viants (thk Norman Bat Psycho).

AMERINS VASTLY OVERTIMATE SIZE OF GAY POPULATN, GALLUP POLL REVEALS

Sce then, however, the portrayal of gay characters pop culture have bee far more numero and mostly posive. In the last 10 years, the number of Amerins sayg they feel homosexualy should be nsired an acceptable alternative liftyle has gone om 38% (June 1992) to 51% (May 2002). "Seeg ourselv reflected posively enurag gay people to e out, " said Cathy Renna, news media director for the Gay & Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn (GLAAD).

" If you doubt that Ellen, Rosie and others have had an effect on Amerins' acceptance of homosexualy, nsir this -- MTV and Showtime are about to lnch a ble channel directed at the homosexual market.

Whether creased acceptance of homosexualy has led to an upsurge the number of posive media portrayals of gay characters or vice versa, one rult seems to be that Amerins now tend to overtimate the gay populatn Ameri. While most expert timat place Ameri's homosexual populatn at 10% or ls, Amerins tend to gus that the number is higher, around 20%.

STRONG MUNY BELONGG MORAT POOR MENTAL HEALTH LBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL DIVIDUALS LIVG CANADA: AN TERSECTNAL ANALYSIS OF A NATNAL POPULATN-BASED SURVEY

*Rults based on telephone terviews wh 489 (for those timatg percentag of lbian women) and 518 (for those timatg percentag of gay men) nducted May 6-9, 2002. Over one-fifth of LGBTQ rponnts, or 21 percent, are gay, 14 percent are lbian, 10 percent are transgenr and 4 percent intify as somethg else.

Everyone will be eher gay or trans or nonnformg or whatever the list of 50 or 60 different optns there are.

” The edian Bill Maher said on his show that by 2054, if we follow what he se as the current trajectory, “we will all be gay, ” addg that the rise the number of younger people intifyg as transgenr seemed spic. Bee of the fluence of Schorr put siarly Natnal Review: “To suggt that social suggtibily uld be playg a role the skyrocketg numbers of young girls’ exprsg their sire to bee mal, for example, is not of urse to say that gay and transgenr people would not exist whout the topics’ beg discsed the public square.

AMERINS GREATLY OVERTIMATE PERCENT GAY, LBIAN U.S.

”This fear is based on an unrstandg of genr and sexualy as alarmgly agile, easily undone by a gay teacher or a trans TikTok fluencer. This is the first time Amerin history that gay and trans people have been able to live as themselv any real way, wh jobs and marriag and dogs and ts and visibily.

A GAY UPLE RAN A RAL RTRANT PEACE. THEN NEW NEIGHBORS ARRIVED.

Twenty-one per cent of LGBTQ+ Amerins intify as gay, 14% lbian, 10% transgenr and 4% somethg one six Gen Z adults, or 15%, intify as bisexual. “The young adults [Generatn Z] are g of age, cludg g to terms wh their sexualy or genr inty, at a time when Amerins creasgly accept gays, lbians and transgenr people, and LGBT dividuals enjoy creasg legal protectn agast discrimatn, ” Gallup said.

Adults’ intifitn as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr or somethg other than heterosexual held steady 2022, at 7.

In each survey, Gallup asks rponnts if they intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr or somethg else, allowg them to choose multiple inti. About one five LGBT adults intify as gay, about one seven say they are lbian, and slightly fewer than one 10 intify as transgenr. In 2022, Gallup for the first time rerd the preferred inty of those who dited they were somethg other than heterosexual bis the tradnal lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr inti.

In addn to beg able to intify whether they are lbian, gay, bisexual or straight, rponnts may also specifilly intify whether they are transgenr. In olr age groups, exprsed bisexual preference is not signifintly more mon than exprsed gay or lbian preference.

At a time when Amerins are creasgly supportive of equal rights for gay, lbian and transgenr people, a growg percentage of Amerins intify themselv as LGBT.