Whats the percentage of gay and lesbien in the us

Newsletter March 6, Daniel A. Cox, Jae Grace, Avery Shields. For the first few years, there was not much news to report. The percentage of Americans who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer was relatively low and inching up slowly year over year. Recently, the pace has sped up.

Innearly one in ten 9. Most of the uptick in LGBTQ identity over the past decade is due to a dramatic increase among young adults, particularly young women. Over the next nine years, LGBTQ identity increased by 21 points among young women and only six points among young men.

There is now a nearly point gap in the sexual identity of young women and men. As someone who studies cultural and social trends for a living, this is simply remarkable. There are a few explanations worth considering. For a very long time, many gay or lesbian people felt compelled to hide who they were to avoid public condemnation, social stigma and even violence.

But American society has changed a lot over the last few decades, and views of LGBTQ people have become far less negative than they once were. In67 percent of US adults said that homosexuality should be accepted by society, up from 50 percent in This argument is based on the idea that natural sexual preferences and identities were culturally repressed.

Increasing social acceptance of homosexuality does not explain why the rise in LGBTQ identity is primarily occurring among young liberal women—are they uniquely tolerant or supportive? In fact, there is little change among older cohorts. The number of Americans who identify as bisexual has exploded, especially among young women.

The Gallup data shows that nearly one-quarter of young women identify as bisexual. But bisexual identity does not neatly align with behavior. In our research, most Americans who report fluid sexual preferences still generally prefer one gender. A past study by the Pew Research Center found that nearly nine in ten partnered-bisexual people are currently dating someone of the opposite sex.

Another possible explanation for why women have experienced the most dramatic growth in LGBTQ identity is social media. Young women are significantly more active on social media than young men, and given gendered habits online, they are more likely to be exposed to accounts that feature LGBTQ topics.

Our research also shows that young women who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or queer are much more active on social media platforms than women of the same age who are straight. For me, this is a compelling explanation. After the COVID pandemic restricted in-person socializing, social media became a refuge for many teens and young adults, and the use of platforms like TikTok spiked.

5 key findings about LGBTQ+ Americans

A Business Insider article describes how some young women exposed to social media algorithms expressed greater openness to identifying as LGBTQ:. Three have since come out as lesbians, and one as queer. All said their time on the app was an earth-shaking experience, as they discovered an alternative to popular culture that rarely shows women loving other women romantically.

Since the earliest days of the Internet, online communities served as critical spaces for people from marginalized groups to connect with others who shared their experiences or identity. But these early virtual communities required people to actively seek out these affirming spaces, while modern social media algorithms excel at sending affirmations directly to us.