Gays the Milary: New Facts Conquer Old Taboos | RAND

Contents:

• WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY [UPDATED MAY 2023]
• GAYS THE MILARY: NEW FACTS CONQUER OLD TABOOS
• NATNALLY REPRENTATIVE PREVALENCE TIMAT OF GAY, BISEXUAL, AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN WHO HAVE SERVED THE U.S. ARY
• GAY, BISEXUAL TROOPS MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER SEXUAL ASSLTS, STUDY SUGGTS
• AMERINS STILL GREATLY OVERTIMATE U.S. GAY POPULATN
• ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY [UPDATED MAY 2023]

The variants are more clive of all dividuals who are non-heterosexual and non-cisgenr stead of exclively applyg to people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr.

For example, one set of qutns may seek self-reported data on same-sex sexual experienc, while another set may seek data surroundg personal intifitn as lbian, gay, or bisexual. Other stat wh LGBTQ+ protectns, such as Massachetts and Colorado, also have higher timated populatns of gay, lbian, bisexual, and otherwise non-heterosexual dividuals.

Although the move was ially blocked a seri of feral urt lgs, the Supreme Court eventually allowed the trans ary ban to go to the rate of sexual harassment and asslt was signifintly higher for gay and bisexual men than heterosexual men, Schyuler noted the likelihood was roughly equal for queer women. Around 70 percent of lbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women enlisted the ary, for stance, all reported experiencg a statement to the LGBTQ+ news webse Gay Cy News, Schyler poted to the “value system that valu mascule ials” as one reason for the discrepancy between the self-reported rat among queer women and men.

GAYS THE MILARY: NEW FACTS CONQUER OLD TABOOS

Congrs to end discrimatn agast gays the ary, adopted the alternative policy that me to be known as “Don't Ask, Don't Tell, ” which preclud gay men and women om servg the U. Between March 1 and October 1 of last year, more than 50 RAND rearchers om a wi range of discipl met wh lears of seven allied ari; vised domtic law enforcement anizatns, feral agenci, private rporatns, and universi; held foc groups wh service members; nducted a nfintial ter survey of gay and lbian service members; tracked chang public attus; and sured the amic lerature to update the nclns of our 1993 report.

The proportn of the civilian populatn who say they know someone who is gay or lbian has grown om 42 percent 1992 to 77 percent 2010, wh younger people reportg higher numbers than olr people. Figure 1 (above) shows that today, ntrast to 1993, more than half of Amerins support the right of gay men and women to choose their liftyle, and almost everyone agre that gay people should have equal rights job opportuni. This natnally reprentative survey, which has followed 20, 745 adolcents sce high school graduatn datg back to 1994 and has asked them about their sexual orientatn and ary service, allows to timate what actn of ary men and women intify themselv as gay pared wh that of those who have no ary service.

NATNALLY REPRENTATIVE PREVALENCE TIMAT OF GAY, BISEXUAL, AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN WHO HAVE SERVED THE U.S. ARY

Populatn suggt that about one-fourth of gay men, lbians, and bisexuals keep their sexual orientatn strictly secret; about one-fourth are pletely open about their sexual orientatn; and the other half fall somewhere the middle, disclosg their sexual orientatn to select dividuals.

GAY, BISEXUAL TROOPS MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER SEXUAL ASSLTS, STUDY SUGGTS

Ary policy statg that “homosexualy is patible wh ary service” is based on the premise that a gay ary member's prence “adversely affects the abily of the Milary Servic to mata disciple, good orr, and morale. Other untri also report that the sizable cl recment that had once been predicted surveys prr to removg rtrictns on the service of gay members did not fact occur.

Meanwhile, rat of HIV fectn the ary are unlikely to crease if currently servg gay men are able to disclose their sexual orientatn—even if the number of gay ary members creas—bee of improved HIV screeng polici and the small actn of gay personnel. Deprsn, anxiety, suici, bge drkg, and substance abe are more mon among gay dividuals but are unlikely to substantially affect reads, given the overall prevalence of the problems the ary and the small percentage of gay service members. The strs of hidg one's sexual orientatn might create or further exacerbate mental health problems among gay service members and lim the social support they receive.

When gay service members are no longer required to hi their sexual orientatn, the strs and feelgs of stigmatizatn might be rced, perhaps also rcg substance abe and mental disorrs. Our foc groups wh ary personnel, as well as our nfintial ter survey of gay and lbian personnel, dite that many service members today know or believe they are servg wh gay men and lbians.

AMERINS STILL GREATLY OVERTIMATE U.S. GAY POPULATN

For the most part, participants rpected the service of the gay or lbian service members they knew and did not believe those gay dividuals should be separated om the service. Potential problems wh the new policy that were equently mentned clud harassment of gay service members by heterosexuals, sexual harassment of heterosexuals by gay service members, creased admistrative workload, and chang ary culture and muny life.

Participants worried that problems might occur if gay men were clud fantry uns (though this ncern was often exprsed by those who were not actually members of ground bat uns). This clud givg clear and direct orrs outlg unacceptable behavr for both gay and heterosexual personnel, nsistency enforcement throughout the cha of mand, and zero tolerance for harassment. For our nfintial ter survey of gay, lbian, and bisexual personnel, we worked wh ne anizatns that eher serve as personal and profsnal works for gay service members and veterans or reprent them.

A fifth of the sample was female, which was a higher actn than the populatn of all service members but likely a smaller actn than the populatn of gay service members. When asked to intify personal sts that they attributed to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, the vast majory of the 208 rponnts said had put gay personnel at risk for blackmail or manipulatn and had an adverse effect on their personal and un relatnships. Regardg an issue often ced as important for retentn cisns, almost all gay rponnts (93 percent) agreed that “gays and lbians the ary have pennts who are missg out on opportuni and support systems that other ary fai n e.

ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS

About half of the gay rponnts who now pretend to be heterosexual or who avoid talkg about their personal liv said they would disclose their orientatn selectively, “pendg on circumstanc and who is volved. We vised the ari of Atralia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, and the Uned Kgdom—all of which now have years of experience wh gay personnel servg their forc whout any rtrictns. All reported that they had tegrated openly gay people whout ser problems, whout negative effects on performance, and whout makg specific acmodatns—by applyg a strict policy of nondiscrimatn.