Refutg the '1 10 is gay' myth | Ask Dr. Brown

Contents:

• HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GAY? LGBT STATISTICS.
• REFUTG THE '1 10 IS GAY' MYTH
• JT HOW MANY LGBT AMERINS ARE THERE?COUNTED OUTGALLUP POLLG SHOW THAT 4 PERCENT OF AMERINS ARE LGBT. BUT WH MORE LENNIALS SELF-INTIFYG AS LGBT, THAT NUMBER ULD ONE DAY REACH THE OFT-CED ‘1 10.’SAMANTHA ALLENUPDATED NOV. 16, 2018 1:58PM EST / PUBLISHED JAN. 14, 2017 12:01AM EST DAVID SILVERMAN/GETTYBOTH OF THE THGS ARE PROBABLY TE: YOU HAVE HEARD THAT 1 10 PEOPLE ARE GAY AND YOU HAVE NO IA WHERE THAT STATISTIC ME OM.ESTIMAT OF THE SIZE OF THE LGBT POPULATN HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MURKY, BORRG ON MYTHOLOGIL. THE 1--10 FIGURE FIRST EMERGED OUT OF POST-WORLD WAR II STUDI BY THE PNEERG SEXOLOGIST ALED KSEY, WHO REPORTED THAT 10 PERCENT OF MEN WERE “MORE OR LS EXCLIVELY HOMOSEXUAL.” THAT NUMBER WASN’T PERFECT—AND ’S BEEN NTUOLY REVISED—BUT BEME A POLILLY EXPEDIENT TOOL THE STONEWALL ERA.NOW, OVER 60 YEARS AFTER KSEY’S ATH, NEW GALLUP DATA SHOWS THAT THE TIMATED SIZE OF THE U.S. LGBT POPULATN AS A WHOLE IS GETTG CLOSER THAN EVER TO THE LEGENDARY “1--10” NUMBER—AMONG LENNIALS, AT LEAST.USG GALLUP DATA TAKEN OM TERVIEWS WH OVER 1.6 LN ADULTS, MOGRAPHER GARY J. GAT REPORTED THAT 10 LN AMERINS—4 PERCENT OF THE POPULATN—NOW INTIFY AS LGBT. THAT CLUS A RERD-HIGH 7.3 PERCENT OF PEOPLE BORN BETWEEN 1980 AND 1998 WHO NOW INTIFY AS LGBT—UP OM 5.8 PERCENT 2012. (THIS NEW DATA RERC A 2015 NCLN OM THE PUBLIC RELIGN REARCH INSTUTE—FIRST HIGHLIGHTED BY THE DAILY BEAST—THAT “7 PERCENT OF LENNIALS INTIFY EHER AS LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, OR TRANSGENR,” BASED ON A SURVEY OF 2,000 ADULTS.)BUT WILL THAT NUMBER EVER REACH 10 PERCENT THE POPULATN AT LARGE?“IT’S NOT A PLETELY UNREALISTIC FIGURE,” GAT TOLD THE DAILY BEAST. “CERTALY APPEARS AS IF—GIVEN A LTLE MORE TIME— MIGHT, FACT, BE [THE SE] THAT CLOSE TO 10 PERCENT INTIFY AS LGBT.”GAT IS ONE OF THE TOP MOGRAPHERS OF THE LGBT POPULATN THE UNED STAT, AND THE THOR OF A WILY-CED 2011 WILLIAMS INSTUTE META-ANALYSIS ON THE SUBJECT, WHICH TIMATED THAT 3.5 PERCENT OF ADULTS INTIFY AS LBIAN, GAY, OR BISEXUAL, AND 0.3 PERCENT INTIFY AS TRANSGENR. HE TOLD THE DAILY BEAST THAT THE CREASG SIZE OF THE LGBT POPULATN TIMATE N LARGELY BE ATTRIBUTED TO “PEOPLE FEELG MORE FORTABLE AND MORE WILLG TO INTIFY [AS LGBT].”BUT SOME GROUPS ARE MORE WILLG THAN OTHERS TO DISCLOSE THEIR INTY TO A GALLUP TERVIEWER. MILLENNIALS, AS GAT NOTED HIS REPORT, ARE RPONSIBLE FOR “VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE CREAS OBSERVED OVERALL LGBT SELF-INTIFITN,” WHICH IS UNSURPRISG BEE THEY ARE “THE FIRST GENERATN THE U.S. TO GROW UP AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE LGBT MUNY MARKEDLY CREASED.”IN OTHER WORDS, ’S NOT THE SE THAT LGBT INTY IS SUDNLY RISG PREVALENCE BUT THAT TODAY’S YOUNG PEOPLE ARE SIMPLY MORE FORTHG WHEN ASKED ABOUT SEXUALY AND GENR ON SURVEYS. IF YOU’RE A BABY BOOMER, THK OF AS A VARIATN ON THAT QUOTE OM THE 1989 KEV COSTNER CLASSIC FIELD OF DREAMS: “IF YOU BUILD LGBT CLN, THEY WILL E OUT.”AND ONE SUB-GROUP OF THE LGBT MUNY SEEMS TO BE G OUT—TO GALLUP, AT LEAST— PARTICULARLY LARGE NUMBERS.“IT’S VERY CLEAR THAT SOME OF THE BIGGT CREAS ARE AMONG WOMEN INTIFYG AS BISEXUAL,” GAT RMED THE DAILY BEAST. “THAT’S WHAT’S REALLY DRIVG A LOT OF THE FDGS.”BISEXUAL PEOPLE, AS GAT HAS PREVLY REPORTED, NSTUTE A “SLIGHT MAJORY” OF THE LBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL MUNY (PDF).HOWEVER, BISEXUAL PEOPLE ARE MUCH LS LIKELY TO BE OUT OF THE CLOSET THAN THEIR LBIAN OR GAY PEERS, WH ONLY 28 PERCENT TELLG PEW 2013 THAT “MOST OR ALL OF THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE THEIR LIV” KNEW ABOUT THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATN.INCREASED BISEXUAL SELF-INTIFITN AMONG WOMEN, THEN, IS AN ENURAGG SIGN FOR A PARTICULARLY MALIGNED SUBSET OF THE LGBT MUNY.BISEXUAL MEN, UNFORTUNATELY, ARE SUBJECT TO UNIQUE STEREOTYP AND STIGMAS THAT MAY MAKE EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO MEASURE THEIR NUMBER. (ONLY 12 PERCENT OF BISEXUAL MEN TOLD PEW THAT THEY WERE OUT TO THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE THEIR LIV.)THIS UNEVEN GROWTH LGBT SELF-INTIFITN ACROSS DIFFERENT SEXUAL ORIENTATNS AND GENRS MAK CHALLENGG FOR GAT TO NFINTLY PREDICT HOW QUICKLY—OR IF—THE TIMATED SIZE OF THE LGBT POPULATN WILL RISE BEYOND THE 7 PERCENT RATE CURRENTLY FOUND AMONG LENNIALS.“TEN YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, ARE MEN GOG TO TCH UP OR IS THAT GAP GOG TO GET BIGGER?” HE WONRED ALOUD.BUT ONE THG’S FOR CERTA: THE MORE LGBT PEOPLE EXPERIENCE SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE, THE MORE ACCURATE OUR TIMAT OF THE SIZE OF THE LGBT POPULATN WILL BEE.IN TODAY’S SOCIAL CLIMATE, REARCH SUGGTS THAT LGBT PEOPLE MAY STILL BE UNWILLG TO SELF-INTIFY AS SUCH ON ANONYMO SURVEYS. IN ONE 2013 STUDY OM REARCHERS AT OH STATE UNIVERSY AND BOSTON UNIVERSY—REPORTED BY PEW—THE PERCENTAGE OF RPONNTS WHO INTIFIED AS NON-HETEROSEXUAL ON A SURVEY NEARLY DOUBLED WHEN THEY ASKED ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATN AN DIRECT AND EVEN MORE ANONYMO WAY.GAT POTS TO DISURAGG DITORS OF NTEMPORARY ANTI-LGBT PREJUDICE—LIKE THE FACT THAT CLOSE TO 30 PERCENT OF AMERINS THK THAT SAME-SEX SEXUAL BEHAVR SHOULD BE ILLEGAL—AS A SIGN THAT “WE’RE STILL QUE A B AWAYS” OM BEG NFINT THAT ALL SURVEY RPONNTS ARE FORTABLE DISCLOSG THEIR SEXUAL AND GENR INTY.DEMOGRAPHERS N MAKE TIMAT AND THE ERNMENT N TRY TO ASK ABOUT LGBT INTY ON THE CENS, BUT UNTIL BEG LGBT IS A TOTAL NONISSUE, WE’LL NEVER KNOW THE SIZE OF THE POPULATN FOR SURE.GAT STRS THAT ’S STILL NO KE WALK FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO E OUT—A RPONSE TO THE MYTHS THAT ’S NOW “TRENDY” TO BE LGBT AND THAT CHILDREN ARE BEG “PEER PRSURED” TO BEG GAY.“LOOK, I N STILL OFFER YOU SO MANY EXAMPL OF WHY IS SO DIFFICULT TO BE OUT AS AN LGBT PERSON TODAY,” HE TOLD THE DAILY BEAST. “SO THE IA THAT ’S SOMEHOW JT EASY FOR ANY GENERATN—PARTICULARLY YOUNGER GENERATNS TO E OUT—SEEMS TO ME JT RIDICULO ON THE FACE OF .”BUT GENERATNAL CHANGE WILL ALMOST CERTALY MAKE G OUT EASIER FOR EVERYONE, YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE. AND THAT’S WHY, IF PRSED, GAT DO EXPECT THE TIMATED SIZE OF THE LGBT POPULATN TO CLIMB EVER CLOSER TO THE MYTHIL “ONE--10” MARK.“BASED ON REARCH, I THK THE ANSWER IS PROBABLY THAT, FACT, THE NUMBERS ARE JT GONNA GET CLOSER AND CLOSER—AND MAYBE EXCEED—10 PERCENT DOWN THE ROAD,” HE SAID. SAMANTHA ALLEN
• TEENAGERS ATTACK GAY COUPLE, THREATEN TO RAPE THEIR DOG
• IS 10% OF THE POPULATN REALLY GAY?
• WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY?

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GAY? LGBT STATISTICS.

Serve Our Youthone•n•ten is a nonprof anizatn dited to servg and assistg lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and qutng (LGBTQ) youth ag 14 to 24. Over the last , he has mted himself to nonprof service, servg on the Arizona steerg mtee of the Human Rights Campaign, the board of the Greater Phoenix Gay & Lbian Chamber of Commerce, The Melonhead Foundatn, and as -chair of the board of directors for Equaly Arizona.

REFUTG THE '1 10 IS GAY' MYTH

The ia that one ten people is homosexual is perhaps one of the most known and recurrg “myths” about homosexualy. The reports revolutnized and sndalized the society of the 50s, removg homosexualy om the shadows and makg a relatively mon phenomenon.

JT HOW MANY LGBT AMERINS ARE THERE?COUNTED OUTGALLUP POLLG SHOW THAT 4 PERCENT OF AMERINS ARE LGBT. BUT WH MORE LENNIALS SELF-INTIFYG AS LGBT, THAT NUMBER ULD ONE DAY REACH THE OFT-CED ‘1 10.’SAMANTHA ALLENUPDATED NOV. 16, 2018 1:58PM EST / PUBLISHED JAN. 14, 2017 12:01AM EST DAVID SILVERMAN/GETTYBOTH OF THE THGS ARE PROBABLY TE: YOU HAVE HEARD THAT 1 10 PEOPLE ARE GAY AND YOU HAVE NO IA WHERE THAT STATISTIC ME OM.ESTIMAT OF THE SIZE OF THE LGBT POPULATN HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MURKY, BORRG ON MYTHOLOGIL. THE 1--10 FIGURE FIRST EMERGED OUT OF POST-WORLD WAR II STUDI BY THE PNEERG SEXOLOGIST ALED KSEY, WHO REPORTED THAT 10 PERCENT OF MEN WERE “MORE OR LS EXCLIVELY HOMOSEXUAL.” THAT NUMBER WASN’T PERFECT—AND ’S BEEN NTUOLY REVISED—BUT BEME A POLILLY EXPEDIENT TOOL THE STONEWALL ERA.NOW, OVER 60 YEARS AFTER KSEY’S ATH, NEW GALLUP DATA SHOWS THAT THE TIMATED SIZE OF THE U.S. LGBT POPULATN AS A WHOLE IS GETTG CLOSER THAN EVER TO THE LEGENDARY “1--10” NUMBER—AMONG LENNIALS, AT LEAST.USG GALLUP DATA TAKEN OM TERVIEWS WH OVER 1.6 LN ADULTS, MOGRAPHER GARY J. GAT REPORTED THAT 10 LN AMERINS—4 PERCENT OF THE POPULATN—NOW INTIFY AS LGBT. THAT CLUS A RERD-HIGH 7.3 PERCENT OF PEOPLE BORN BETWEEN 1980 AND 1998 WHO NOW INTIFY AS LGBT—UP OM 5.8 PERCENT 2012. (THIS NEW DATA RERC A 2015 NCLN OM THE PUBLIC RELIGN REARCH INSTUTE—FIRST HIGHLIGHTED BY THE DAILY BEAST—THAT “7 PERCENT OF LENNIALS INTIFY EHER AS LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, OR TRANSGENR,” BASED ON A SURVEY OF 2,000 ADULTS.)BUT WILL THAT NUMBER EVER REACH 10 PERCENT THE POPULATN AT LARGE?“IT’S NOT A PLETELY UNREALISTIC FIGURE,” GAT TOLD THE DAILY BEAST. “CERTALY APPEARS AS IF—GIVEN A LTLE MORE TIME— MIGHT, FACT, BE [THE SE] THAT CLOSE TO 10 PERCENT INTIFY AS LGBT.”GAT IS ONE OF THE TOP MOGRAPHERS OF THE LGBT POPULATN THE UNED STAT, AND THE THOR OF A WILY-CED 2011 WILLIAMS INSTUTE META-ANALYSIS ON THE SUBJECT, WHICH TIMATED THAT 3.5 PERCENT OF ADULTS INTIFY AS LBIAN, GAY, OR BISEXUAL, AND 0.3 PERCENT INTIFY AS TRANSGENR. HE TOLD THE DAILY BEAST THAT THE CREASG SIZE OF THE LGBT POPULATN TIMATE N LARGELY BE ATTRIBUTED TO “PEOPLE FEELG MORE FORTABLE AND MORE WILLG TO INTIFY [AS LGBT].”BUT SOME GROUPS ARE MORE WILLG THAN OTHERS TO DISCLOSE THEIR INTY TO A GALLUP TERVIEWER. MILLENNIALS, AS GAT NOTED HIS REPORT, ARE RPONSIBLE FOR “VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE CREAS OBSERVED OVERALL LGBT SELF-INTIFITN,” WHICH IS UNSURPRISG BEE THEY ARE “THE FIRST GENERATN THE U.S. TO GROW UP AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE LGBT MUNY MARKEDLY CREASED.”IN OTHER WORDS, ’S NOT THE SE THAT LGBT INTY IS SUDNLY RISG PREVALENCE BUT THAT TODAY’S YOUNG PEOPLE ARE SIMPLY MORE FORTHG WHEN ASKED ABOUT SEXUALY AND GENR ON SURVEYS. IF YOU’RE A BABY BOOMER, THK OF AS A VARIATN ON THAT QUOTE OM THE 1989 KEV COSTNER CLASSIC FIELD OF DREAMS: “IF YOU BUILD LGBT CLN, THEY WILL E OUT.”AND ONE SUB-GROUP OF THE LGBT MUNY SEEMS TO BE G OUT—TO GALLUP, AT LEAST— PARTICULARLY LARGE NUMBERS.“IT’S VERY CLEAR THAT SOME OF THE BIGGT CREAS ARE AMONG WOMEN INTIFYG AS BISEXUAL,” GAT RMED THE DAILY BEAST. “THAT’S WHAT’S REALLY DRIVG A LOT OF THE FDGS.”BISEXUAL PEOPLE, AS GAT HAS PREVLY REPORTED, NSTUTE A “SLIGHT MAJORY” OF THE LBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL MUNY (PDF).HOWEVER, BISEXUAL PEOPLE ARE MUCH LS LIKELY TO BE OUT OF THE CLOSET THAN THEIR LBIAN OR GAY PEERS, WH ONLY 28 PERCENT TELLG PEW 2013 THAT “MOST OR ALL OF THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE THEIR LIV” KNEW ABOUT THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATN.INCREASED BISEXUAL SELF-INTIFITN AMONG WOMEN, THEN, IS AN ENURAGG SIGN FOR A PARTICULARLY MALIGNED SUBSET OF THE LGBT MUNY.BISEXUAL MEN, UNFORTUNATELY, ARE SUBJECT TO UNIQUE STEREOTYP AND STIGMAS THAT MAY MAKE EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO MEASURE THEIR NUMBER. (ONLY 12 PERCENT OF BISEXUAL MEN TOLD PEW THAT THEY WERE OUT TO THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE THEIR LIV.)THIS UNEVEN GROWTH LGBT SELF-INTIFITN ACROSS DIFFERENT SEXUAL ORIENTATNS AND GENRS MAK CHALLENGG FOR GAT TO NFINTLY PREDICT HOW QUICKLY—OR IF—THE TIMATED SIZE OF THE LGBT POPULATN WILL RISE BEYOND THE 7 PERCENT RATE CURRENTLY FOUND AMONG LENNIALS.“TEN YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, ARE MEN GOG TO TCH UP OR IS THAT GAP GOG TO GET BIGGER?” HE WONRED ALOUD.BUT ONE THG’S FOR CERTA: THE MORE LGBT PEOPLE EXPERIENCE SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE, THE MORE ACCURATE OUR TIMAT OF THE SIZE OF THE LGBT POPULATN WILL BEE.IN TODAY’S SOCIAL CLIMATE, REARCH SUGGTS THAT LGBT PEOPLE MAY STILL BE UNWILLG TO SELF-INTIFY AS SUCH ON ANONYMO SURVEYS. IN ONE 2013 STUDY OM REARCHERS AT OH STATE UNIVERSY AND BOSTON UNIVERSY—REPORTED BY PEW—THE PERCENTAGE OF RPONNTS WHO INTIFIED AS NON-HETEROSEXUAL ON A SURVEY NEARLY DOUBLED WHEN THEY ASKED ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATN AN DIRECT AND EVEN MORE ANONYMO WAY.GAT POTS TO DISURAGG DITORS OF NTEMPORARY ANTI-LGBT PREJUDICE—LIKE THE FACT THAT CLOSE TO 30 PERCENT OF AMERINS THK THAT SAME-SEX SEXUAL BEHAVR SHOULD BE ILLEGAL—AS A SIGN THAT “WE’RE STILL QUE A B AWAYS” OM BEG NFINT THAT ALL SURVEY RPONNTS ARE FORTABLE DISCLOSG THEIR SEXUAL AND GENR INTY.DEMOGRAPHERS N MAKE TIMAT AND THE ERNMENT N TRY TO ASK ABOUT LGBT INTY ON THE CENS, BUT UNTIL BEG LGBT IS A TOTAL NONISSUE, WE’LL NEVER KNOW THE SIZE OF THE POPULATN FOR SURE.GAT STRS THAT ’S STILL NO KE WALK FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO E OUT—A RPONSE TO THE MYTHS THAT ’S NOW “TRENDY” TO BE LGBT AND THAT CHILDREN ARE BEG “PEER PRSURED” TO BEG GAY.“LOOK, I N STILL OFFER YOU SO MANY EXAMPL OF WHY IS SO DIFFICULT TO BE OUT AS AN LGBT PERSON TODAY,” HE TOLD THE DAILY BEAST. “SO THE IA THAT ’S SOMEHOW JT EASY FOR ANY GENERATN—PARTICULARLY YOUNGER GENERATNS TO E OUT—SEEMS TO ME JT RIDICULO ON THE FACE OF .”BUT GENERATNAL CHANGE WILL ALMOST CERTALY MAKE G OUT EASIER FOR EVERYONE, YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE. AND THAT’S WHY, IF PRSED, GAT DO EXPECT THE TIMATED SIZE OF THE LGBT POPULATN TO CLIMB EVER CLOSER TO THE MYTHIL “ONE--10” MARK.“BASED ON REARCH, I THK THE ANSWER IS PROBABLY THAT, FACT, THE NUMBERS ARE JT GONNA GET CLOSER AND CLOSER—AND MAYBE EXCEED—10 PERCENT DOWN THE ROAD,” HE SAID. SAMANTHA ALLEN

So much so, that acrdg to Ksey at least 37% of the male populatn and 20% of the female populatn had had some homosexual experience between adolcence and old age.

TEENAGERS ATTACK GAY COUPLE, THREATEN TO RAPE THEIR DOG

However, his reports Ksey do not talk about that 10% statistics, bee, although that data is related to that rearcher and his report, the te fact is (at least acrdg to Bce Voeller, scientist and foundg member of the Natnal Gay Task Force, now known as Natnal LGBTQ Task Force) that they “vented” the number by makg an average between men (13%) and women (7%), which acrdg to the reports were mostly homosexual. Homosexualy everywhereAnd so, the famo statistic that claimed that 10% of the populatn was homosexual was born. So much so that the number, ed aga and aga, has bee an almost accepted fact, turng statistics and homosexual mography to a tool and/or a weapon the polil battlefield between fenrs and opponents of the LGBT people rights.

IS 10% OF THE POPULATN REALLY GAY?

It has served as a rivative also, focg on the thorny pot that after more than a century sce the ncept of homosexualy appeared, has not been possible to answer the qutn of what is or what is meant by homosexualy. Bee, spe havg been untg homosexuals for 70 years, seems that the thors, scholars, specialists, and experts who rry out the studi nnot e to an agreement on the matter.

Bee the studi are not only about knowg how many people are gay, about how many of are homosexual, but about why we are different, and startg om this premise of difference we are assumg and reaffirmg a mol of hegemonic sentialist heterosexualy that remas almost untouchable, even the oh! But, neverthels, that 10% also forc to exist relatn to a paradigm that has long sce begun to change of the homosexualy paradigmThe ia that a person’s sexualy is dynamic, fluid, changeable, and versatile, that works beyond a fixed, termate, and stable inty that n be fed by a term, is the great secret that has existed sce the tim of Ksey. It is not that there are gay, bi or hetero humans, but that all human begs have the wonrful abily to love and enjoy very different ways pendg on the circumstanc.

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY?

Countg homosexuals do nothg but rerce that dichotomy between the normal and the different, and if we really want to move forward we mt abandon that paradigm, which was eful for a time but that is sufficient today, bee human sexualy, of people, of all of , is plastic, and there is where s sentialy many people are gay?

One of the early gay activist talkg pots was that 1 10 people were gay, even though the activists knew this was not te. That’s why was signifint when, 2011, mographer Gary Gat, himself gay, “released a review of populatn-based surveys on the topic, timatg that 3.