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DEMOGRAPHICS

Are Gay People Really 3.5% of the Population?

That's the result from a Gallup survey of LGBT Americans

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by Mary Noble

Senior Editor t

Image: Latitude News

LGBT people make up 3.5% of the population, according to a Gallup survey of 120,000 adults. That figure is very close to a 2011 estimate, which put the gay and lesbian population at just 1.7%, and the number of bisexuals (who are mostly women) at 1.8%, for a total of 3.8%.

But most Americans have no idea how many of their countrymen are gay. When asked to take a guess by Gallup in 2011, most said 25% or above. Which is utterly wrong, it transpires.

The numbers in Gallup's survey are based on self-reports, so some might question whether the true number is significantly higher. In the 2011 study, 8.2% of Americans admitted they had had same-sex sexual relations, and 11% reported some feeling of sexual attraction. Those numbers mean that millions of Americans have had sex with same-sex partners, but don't identify as gay or bisexual.

Via Gallup and UCLA's Williams Institute.
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In your experience, are ~3.5% of Americans gay or bisexual?

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Comments (view in Forum)

  • AntiPorcheria
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    @Educate - Lol. I love your religion. The whole turning water into wine and magic tricks thing. It's like Harry Potter, only with incest, rape and mass murder.
  • u
    Educate
    !
    Thank you. I like my 'religion' too, but I don't call it that. I know my Lord and want to spend eternity with him. He warns us against choosing to abide in sin instead of in Him.
  • AntiPorcheria
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    @Educate - "He" also psyched out Abraham and Sarah by convincing them they had to kill their own son. Cool guy. Wicked sense of humor.
  • u
    Educate
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    LIke God says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge".(Hosea 3:4) You sound a little ignorant of the Bible. Maybe you'll want to study up? lol
  • View all 22 replies >
  • martydotcom
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    Gallup 2012 presidential election. Romney 48%. Obama 47%.
    Yawn they're worthless pollsters - give them the desired result and they'll come up with the poll
  • Fishbone345
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    I think it depends on where you are living. Having just moved to the city, I'm seeing a higher percentage of LGBT, of course this could just mean they are more prone to be "out" among city dwellers which tend to be more liberal in their thinking.
  • jessejaymes
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    I have no idea living in California where gays are not only more accepted but pretty much more flamboyant and in your face about being gay. While San Francisco is thought of as a "gay city" in reality the concentration of "gay society" is centered in a single district, the Castro district. In Long Beach which is another high gay population city they are more spread out but also have their own "zone" in the Broadway area. For as long as I can remember I have been told (by gays) that they are 10% of the population. That's certainly believable in cities where there are large enclaves and high street prostitution and gay tend to be very aggressive and hostile publicly. But I can't imagine that number being anywhere close in Montana or Wyoming for example.
  • Fishbone345
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    @jessejaymes "But I can't imagine that number being anywhere close in Montana or Wyoming for example."
    You didn't see "Brokeback Mountain"? Cowboys ain't talkin, and neither are the sheep.
  • View all 51 replies >
  • PNWest
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    @zachsquatch Sorry about that. Maybe this will cheer you up.

    Q: What will the Pope be called after he retires?
    A: ex-Benedict

    Then again, maybe not.....
  • View all 9 replies >
  • mimi57
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    @earl I didn't think so, but I was trying to stay on the topic.( ; Do you have any gay friends or family members?...I'm conducting a survey. LOL
  • View all 35 replies >
  • o
    Sabio
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    @dances-weebles but they are not equal, i like vag, they dont, they like sausage, i dont, therefore we are not equal.
  • View all 9 replies >
  • jessejaymes
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    They do deserve the same rights as anyone else. That's what these ballot measures are for and that's what our courts are for. It doesn't mean that less than 5% of the population should get more than half the damn news every day. My God why can't you liberals see that the tide had swung to the equality side and now you're pushing so hard every day that people like me frankly don't give a damn any longer. It's the liberal way. Not about equality, about superiority. I have NEVER ONCE had equality with the ultra rich. I can't go the Masters and play golf on the weekend anymore than a black guy used to be able to. I can play Pebble Beach just like a gay guy can if I pony up a thousand dollars or whatever it is these days.

    I support equal rights for gays but I am goddamn tired of hearing about gay people and their never ending WHINING every single day. There is a hell of a lot of plural marriages in this country. Do we hear about them every single day? Do they have equal rights? And why shouldn't consenting adults be able to marry as many people as they wish? On what grounds is this illegal? Religion? Oh wait the religious are against gays as well. But we have to hear about the gays every single day. Why aren't you doing the same about polygamy?
  • jessejaymes
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    @thatgirl You know what? I marched for women's rights. Did you? But the fem nazi movement lost me when it became clear that this was not about equality but punishing every possible white straight male alive for every transgression against women that there is. I don't make the rules and I didn't at any time. The best I can do is treat people as I feel they deserve to be treated by how they interact with me. I don't like women who think every conversation has to be about "rights". I don't like gays who think every conversation has to be about being gay. I don't like black people who think it's necessary to tell me how superior black men are in bed to white men. ALL OF THAT CRAP IS RACIST, SEXIST AND BIGOTED. I like my people as everyday people. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we don't. If we agree more than we disagree chances are we'll simply agree to not discuss that which we cannot agree on. I can live with that. I can live with you sleeping with anyone you like of legal age. Live with you making more money than i do. I can live with you running faster, jumping higher and swimming faster than I do. I can live with a whole lot of things. But what i won't live with is people who can't stop WHINING about the inequities of life. There is a place and a time for that. The courts. The ballot box. Marches and protests. But not in my ear every stinking time you show up.
  • o
    thatgirl
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    @jessejaymes I said VOTE. I know you're not that old. I'm not old enough to have marched in the 70s, as I was a child then. Step back from the soapbox and take a deep breath, my friend.
  • View all 46 replies >
  • Zazziness
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    The fact they are a minority has always been part of the reason they've had to struggle to get equal rights; some people mistakenly think "liberty for all" means "if you are just like the majority."
  • u
    cpeter133
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    It also depends on how the person defines homosexuality or self-identifies. Per kinsey, the majority of the population is bisexual to some degree. I'd also need to know where they took their samplings; we do tend to congregate more in some areas than others.
  • dances-weebles
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    according to those who study such things approximately 10% of males of over 1500 species [including humans] exhibit same sex attraction exclusively and 8% of all females.

    i would dare say that the 3.5% number was a bit understated.
  • Dan_Tien
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    @dances-weebles I wonder why 2% more males would be born gay than females? Seems like the percentage should be roughly the same.
  • Russell797
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    Being gay or lesbian is not black and white as in either you are or you are not. There exists all shades of grey in between. Most people are heterosexual, some are strictly gay or lesbian, while many others lie somewhere else along the bell curve of natural variation. To the best of my recollection, scientific studies have shown a rather static percentage of any population at 10% - 20% or so to be other than strict heterosexual.
  • mimi57
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    That may be true if you are a young person, it is very normal for kids to have crushes on members of the same sex...however, most of us grow out of that and
    know exactly what sex we are attracted to, and then there are those who are hyper
    sexual and will have sex with anyone. I've never bought into the whole Bi-sexual
    thing, I think it's just an excuse to "love" whoever you're with. Kind of once again,
    not taking responsibility for your actions.
  • dances-weebles
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    @mimi57 you're partly right... an extremely high percentage of young people, both male and female, from about the age of 9 through 13 normally have sexual interaction with members of the same sex... there are many reasons for this... fear of the unknown, shame, embarrassment... i'm sure that you can add to that list. most of these kids do know that they're straight, but their hormonal changes won't allow them to wait until they grow into sexual exchanges with the opposite sex... for girls it's even worse. there's the fear of pregnancy and what their parents will say 'if'. for the most part these kids sort things out soon enough and migrate to having sex with the opposite sex. there are some few, however, who have either convinced themselves, or have become convinced by their peers that since they have had same sex relations, then they must be gay. normally these folks finally meet someone who shows them the difference and they finally realise that they have been heterosexual all along. these are also the people who can be 'changed' by those 'pray the gay away' programmes. the truth is that they haven't been changed at all. there is a third segment of this population, however, and that is the 10% of all boys who know that they were born to have sex with other males, and the 8% of the females who know that it is only women who fluff their fur. to try to force these people to change can be disastrous, as it often leads to mental breakdowns and even suicide.

    you see, though. homosexuality, and heterosexuality aren't about what one is doing, but who they are. any straight person can have gay sex... does that make them gay?
  • dances-weebles
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    @mimi57 hate to tell you, but there is also a segment of the population who are known as 'pansexuals'

    pansexuality, or omnisexuality, is sexual attraction, sexual desire, romantic love, or emotional attraction toward persons of all gender identities and biological sexes.self-identified pansexuals may consider pansexuality a sexual orientation, and refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are insignificant or irrelevant in determining whether they will be sexually attracted to others. The oxford english dictionary defines pansexuality as, "not limited or inhibited in sexual choice with regard to gender or activity".

    the concept of pansexuality deliberately rejects the gender binary, the "notion of two genders and indeed of specific sexual orientations", as pansexual people are open to relationships with people who do not identify as strictly men or women.

    there is also asexuality.
  • Keyjo
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    There are undoubtedly more Gay people than you are aware of. The vast majority of us don't wear it on our sleeves. Especially if you are in a conservative town, state.
  • o
    NTBFW
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    @Keyjo you know, I have no problem with those that don't just throw it in my face. The flamboyant ones do grate my nerves. Not because they are gay just because they are obnoxious. But honestly I don't know more than a dozen gay people so my experience is limited. I know more bi women than anything. I don't believe in discriminating against anyone. But it still startles me to see men kissing.
  • Keyjo
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    @NTBFW
    It's possible you know more Gay people, you just aren't aware they are!
    Never the less, living where you live, I think a dozen is a pretty high number.
  • o
    NTBFW
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    @Keyjo is that fair enough? I'm not crazy about your politics but could care less if you are gay or not. Other than if I have questions you said I could ask you.
  • o
    NTBFW
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    @Keyjo there probably are a lot more than I realize. It isn't something I dwell on. Like I said I know more bi women than gay men. But I think a lot of the women aren't really gay they are just trying to be wilder and want attention.
  • View all 18 replies >
  • SignifiedNBlue
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    @Zazziness how is that wrong? Look at the liberal states! Colorado and Washington should have NEVER been allowed to legalize pot! What the hell is wrong with MY country?? I spend MY life teaching my kids against drugs and now my grandkids have to grow up in this????? Im sickened. This is NO longer the country I once loved! Im embarassed!
  • Starsplash
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    @SignifiedNBlue Whats wrong with ur country is that ur country is starting to discover that weed and being Gay isn't the apocalypse. Not to mention that weed can be taxed to make money for the state. Kinda a win win situation, because lets face it, the people that smoke weed, aren't going to stop whether its legal or illegal, so might as well make money.
  • SignifiedNBlue
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    @Starsplash I dont view it like that. I view it more about what I want my grandchildrens futures to be. You are playing russian roulette with innocent childrens lives. You are setting a course for generations.. You dont know when you pick up a joint at 13 what your life will entail. Will it be a joint or a crack pipe?? Im wasnt willing to take that chance to find out. I did everything I humanly could to prevent my children from drugs. I dont want to see my grandson or granddaughter become drug addicts. Its a wasted, burnt out life. Please no propaganda, POT is a wasted, burnt out life.
  • View all 11 replies >
  • harold_lloyd
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    In my experience, the sexual preferences of the people with whom I come into contact, does not come up.

    Plus, I don't really care.

    But nothing there is too outrageous, so let me add this.

    I think that sexuality is a continuum, with homosexuality on one end and heterosexuality on the other, and most of us are in the middle somewhere.
    Bisexual....

    And I still don't really care.
  • Knightkore
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    Thank you....someone thinking along the same lines....yet they insist on alienating gun owners but pander to 3.5 percent of the population redefining society and marriage....never did get progressive liberal logic and math....explains why the economy is the way it is....
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