How many Americans are gay? That’s the question posed by a new piece in Time Magazine about the efforts of a coalition of experts from 21 federal agencies to figure out how to even start collecting data to help answer that question.
“After centuries in the shadows, many experts believe that we need a full accounting of the nation’s LGBT population and how they live for legal, economic and health reasons,” writes reporter Katy Steinmetz.
The old 1-in-10 rule popularized in the ’70s and based on Alfred Kinsey’s estimate that 10% of American males were homosexual has been replaced by more accurate number suggesting 5% of the U.S. population actually identifies as LGBT, Steinmetz reports. Of course, that doesn’t factor in people who may be closeted or who engage in homosexual behavior but don’t identify as LGBT. Meanwhile, most Americans seem to think LGBT people make up roughly 25% of the population for some reason.
But according to Steinmetz and the officials she spoke with, figuring out how many LGBT people live in the U.S. isn’t as simple as adding a sexual orientation checkbox to census forms. There are logistical factors such as the language different people in different age groups use to identify and the vagaries of a generation that is increasingly more interested in sexual and gender fluidity than traditional binary notions of identity.
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All of which is why, Steinmetz says, the U.S. census won’t be asking about sexual orientation anytime soon, despite increased interest.
AtticusBennett
indeed. it’s 2016. if you’re a grown adult in north america, it’s far beyond the time to stand up and be counted.
there are more gay people than folks realize. when i graduated high school there were only three of us who were openly-Queer by graduation: 15 years later? more than 20 others have come out.
Paco
In this age of labeling yourself however you want even if it isn’t true, I wouldn’t go by the self-identified numbers. There are way too many men that call themselves straight when they are anything but straight. When you go by how people are actually living their lives and ignore their personal denial of the truth, I bet the number would be even higher than what Kinsey estimated.
redcarpet30
Its a number we will probably never know. There is no reliable and ethical way to count all LGBT people. So we’ll be stuck with self-reporting and estimates.
Paco
Also, I think the reason most Americans think LGBT people make up 25 percent of the population is because they either have a dirty little secret or know people that do. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the number were around 25 percent if everyone’s sexuality is examined objectively and without prejudice.
crowebobby
Hopefully there’ll come a day when it won’t matter how many we are because no one will care . . . but I’m not holding my breath
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
T is not the same thing. They should not be counted with everyone else. Show how few of them there really are and prove now much gay time, money and political power is wasted on so few nationwide. Count the Q seperate too. If they don’t want to be labeled gay, lesbian or bi then give them no place among us at all. Let them get their own spaces away from us.
Bauhaus
I’ve always wondered why gay porn traffic is so high, when we are supposedly such a small percent of the population…
ProfessorMoriarty
^^^ Well, we ARE a bunch of horny mo-fos. 😉
Bauhaus
@ProfessorMoriarty:
Word.
QJ201
25% of people have done the gay.
5% of us commit to it.
Brian
There is no such thing as an LGBT American. Quantifying them would be pointless.
Yes, there are people who choose to identify as gay but the number is low.
However, that does not mean that male homosexual desire is rare. Male homosexual desire is very common but, even then, very few men admit to it owing to the stigma imposed on men by women. Women despise male homosexual desire.
If they did gather data on male sexuality in particular, it would be a huge distortion as they would indicate very small numbers which the Right would then use against us.
mc90
Google’s statistics suggests that the statistics of male searching for gay porn is around 5% consistently across the world. I’d take that as the closest number.
Brian
@mc90: I know lots of gay-identifying men who don’t watch porn. I also know gay-identifying guys who only watch porn where men have sex with women.
Doing porn is an act of prostitution. The type of acts one watches in porn is not a reliable indication of personal sexual orientation.
Daniel-Reader
It makes no difference.
Louis
@IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou: Wow thats an absolutely horrible and divisive attitude to have .
They are just as human as you and I are and just as equally deserving of being treated with dignity , empathy, compassion, understanding, and respect as we also are.
Don’t perpetuate the stereotype of gay men being just as intolerant as heterosexuals are .
It is an embarrassing and divisive attitude.
Chris
I wish good luck to anyone who tries to counts us. The terms that get used will change the results. And as long as a single person in each household fills out the census form, there will be always be an undercount because they won’t know that bit of information about anyone else in the house.
jdboston617
@IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou: Dude – eww. Just eww. Why so hateful? People who are trans are part of the “gay” or LGBT culture. That’s the T.
AtticusBennett
@Louis: @jdboston617:
the good news is the “the T don’t belong with us!” crowd are always such pathetic little wimps, their “reach” extends only as far as the comments made by their Anonymous Internet Accounts.
the actual gay people who make proactive change in the world embrace our Transgender brothers and sisters. Know why that trolling coward resents Trans people? because nobody in his life truly supports him as a gay man.
I’m openly gay, and i’m openly queer. And i support the transgender community, 100%. i stand with them.
those who don’t? they’re exclusively the anonymous troll brigade. people who do nothing, have nothing, and resent those live openly.
AtticusBennett
and guys, just ignore Brian – he hates women because years ago his mom stopped him from blowing the neighbour’s dog, and he never got over it.
Brian
@AtticusBennett: Oh, look, it’s Atticus Bennett, he of the inane commentary.
Brian
@AtticusBennett: And, no, I don’t consider you queer at all. You are not queer. You may think you are queer but you are not. Now go and do something a bit more useful than putting labels on yourself.
Louis
@AtticusBennett: Nods very good points its nice to know there are some in this community who still lead a positive example of inclusivity.
daniel_english
In Trump America who would honestly want to register themselves as LGBT? You might as well be painting a pink triangle on yourself.
I used to think it was fine to be visible. But with the way Trump behaves, I don’t think it is wise to honestly publicly place yourself down as LGBT. You never know when they will come for us next.