Gallup poll reveals Americans believe 25 per cent of their population are gay or lesbian
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Its interesting. If I recall, didn’t France’s Edith Cresson, make the same statement about the number of British gays several years ago? I wonder where straights come up with that number. Even so, it could be right or it could be even more. No government will ever know because many are in the closet and many are still suspicious of taking part in any survey for fear of being outed or persecuted or are in denial, especially for some who label themselves as bisexual. My gut feeling is that its far higher than current statistics show.
One minute its 1%, the next 25% – why does this matter? Are human right based now on proportionality?
lol
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Existence by percentages, by stealth !!!
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That old game again
Exactly.
They keep coming up with these polls but what they don’t poll is how many LGBTQI contribute to society.
I suspect that would 99.9%
It’s the old keep ‘em separate even though in reality we not.
Belief doesn’t usually have much to do with fact.
Really? … If only!
I would imagine between 6% and 10 % is a reasonable estimate.
I’m actually surprised that the right wing evangelical lobby aren’t artificially inflating those numbers as part of a “they’re brainwashing your kids” scare tactic.
But then I can never tell if it suits their agenda more to pretend we account for 1% or 25% of the population.
But hey, if we’re 1 in 4 that would make getting a date a whole lot easier ;)
Haha this is funny. One minute it is 1.5% and then the next it is 25%. I believe that the real figure is around 5-10%.
I agree James. I wonder if the results are indicative of a belief that “they’re everywhere” paranoia? Just a thought.
You mean McCarthy style, “pinks under the bed” paranoia?!?
Hmmm, now I think of it, that does sound like a euphamism for something
Interesting, so perhaps what we are looking it is really just a paranoia barometer?
Good point, JohnK!
Will, it could have some significance when it comes to demographics, especially in countries like America and election results. States where there is a heavier concentration of gays are more successful in getting politicians to support equality issues. An increase in our numbers does have a direct impact on elections and those who represent us. The more visible we are in large numbers, the better the outcome overall. Cameron realised that by courting the gay vote, unprecedented by any Tory PM.
I’m not saying it’s 25% but I do feel that the overall community is larger than people and the government would have us believe.
I just honestly don’t think we are the minorlty people crave and I think governments fear people esp in religion knowing the true facts, why? Who can say?
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An interesting poll in general and it doesn’t matter if true or not it is certainly positive and coming from the US that has to be good.
Actually, I am sure that if you did the same thing and asked Americans how many Black people there are in the U.S. you’d probably get a figure near 50% of the population, as well. (it’s under 15%, btw)
This figure doesn’t surprise me at all. People are basing their impressions (as that is all these are, “impressions”) on the amount of coverage gay issues are getting in the media. If the average person sees a lot of coverage of gay issues, they will assume that that is because the issue affects a larger population base than it in fact does.
don’t know about the others but 100% of me is gay
doesn’t this just show what utter Tosh these surveys are – ignore the findings and get on with your life. I can assure you with 100% certainty they are wrong. Have you ever told a little fib to a pollster?? – yes I thought so!
At Home and abroad most people seem to miss the point of this poll. It is a poll, not a scientific study. It is not meant to be an accurate count of the gay population. It is a reflection only of the perception, not the accuracy, of the general population. This is significant, and somewhat appalling, because if so many perceive that there are that many gay people then it is all the more horrendous that they are willing to discriminate against such a huge portion of the population. It is also significant that the segment of the poll who indicated the highest numbers is also the same segment who generally votes against gay people. It would seem to indicate that they are yet again feeling overwhelmed by their own ignorance, but of course that part was no surprise.
it depends on who they asked and whether those people are likely to be homophobic – the two issues are not necessarily one and the same….
When you say ‘the segment who generally votes against gay people’ which segment are you talking about? They were saying that younger, more liberal/left wing and poor people generally all indicated that they believed there to be more gay people than the right wing, older people (who are actually the ones who are generally more likely to vote against gay issues….
That’s interesting, I have long thought that it is about 20%. Just based on daily life.
I agree with kurt cobain. Everyone is gay. It’s just that most choose to be straight.
That says more about Kurt Cobain than it does about the general population’s sexuality….
Stats are difficult because of so many closeted gay and lesbian folk. There are also men and women who are bisexual and do not define themselves as homosexual. I think the statistics if you include bisexual is about 60%.
If youre talking bisexual men & women who have actually had same sex sexual experiences I would hazard a guess at it be far lower than 60% lol
it all depends on how you quantify these terms. It would be better to use sexual behaviour as the indicator rather than whether people identify with a particular label as such.
I wish it was 25 percent. Then the battle would be over for marriage. etc.
Given freedom of religious speech, would our christian friends object if we started a church which encouraged str8 people to become gay.
its a church of Jesus, just with a different outlook.