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Since you're going to be discredited by many for citing "adherents.com" as your source (including by me!), I'll back you up using another source.
Gary Gates, a sociologist who has done extensive research on the demographics of the gay population in America, says that between 2 and 3 percent of the population is gay.
So you're right - the 10% number is way too high. For many years, there were virtually no reliable studies that estimated the gay population of the U.S. Ten percent was just a guess. The number is outdated, but it was repeated for so long, that many still believe it's true.
Since you're going to be discredited by many for citing "adherents.com" as your source (including by me!), I'll back you up using another source.
Gary Gates, a sociologist who has done extensive research on the demographics of the gay population in America, says that between 2 and 3 percent of the population is gay.
So you're right - the 10% number is way too high. For many years, there were virtually no reliable studies that estimated the gay population of the U.S. Ten percent was just a guess. The number is outdated, but it was repeated for so long, that many still believe it's true.
Thanks for the assist I was only seeking to show the Census Bureau stats, not be controversial!
For many years, there were virtually no reliable studies that estimated the gay population of the U.S.
How can there be now? Can they read people's minds? Can they spy on people who are living together in secret? (Not trying to sound bitchy, but it just drives me nuts how people can just *know* that others are gay when sometimes they're not going to tell a soul...or even themselves).
How can there be now? Can they read people's minds? Can they spy on people who are living together in secret? (Not trying to sound bitchy, but it just drives me nuts how people can just *know* that others are gay when sometimes they're not going to tell a soul...or even themselves).
Well, we can't know for sure, but there's been lots more studies about gays over the last 20 years than there probably were in the last 100 years before that.
The Census Bureau started asking about unmarried partners in 2000, so that also gives demographers and statisticians some ideas about the number of people who identify as gay.
No one knows for sure, but I put my faith in the reputable studies that are out there. It's just like the fact that no one knows for sure how sexual orientation is determined, but I trust the experts who say that we're either born with it or that it's determined at a very early age.
Since you're going to be discredited by many for citing "adherents.com" as your source (including by me!), I'll back you up using another source.
Gary Gates, a sociologist who has done extensive research on the demographics of the gay population in America, says that between 2 and 3 percent of the population is gay.
So you're right - the 10% number is way too high. For many years, there were virtually no reliable studies that estimated the gay population of the U.S. Ten percent was just a guess. The number is outdated, but it was repeated for so long, that many still believe it's true.
It is virtually impossible to determine the exact percentage of the gay population. I can remember studies which indicated that only 10% of the gay population was actually out of the closet, which means the other 90% or so, were out to only a few of their close (gay) friends, if that. Also, consider demographics of the gay population. Places like Manhattan are not very conducive to nuclear families; few heterosexuals would want to raise a family there, yet Manhattan life is very conducive to single life, making it perfect for gays. While I would agree that 10% of a population to be gay would be a stretch for many places like Wyoming for example, I think places like LA, SFO, NYC, Boston, DC, Miami, Chicago, etc,etc have a larger than 10% gay male population. Also, incidentally, on a grim note, check out the suicide rates for single men in places like Wyoming, Montana, The Dakotas, etc. it is pretty high, with Montana leading the entire nation. One would expect sexual orientation might play a part in this sad statistic.
One huge turn of events happened in the 90's with the invention of the internet. When people started logging into these "manhunt" type of forums, there was literally an explosion of men (mostly married) looking for other men, that were extremely discreet/closeted. M4M websites are extremely popular. They are so popular that it becomes more than apparent that there are still a lot of men locked into social control, i.e. conforming to how society expects them to live, rather than how they should live.
I am amazed that there are people out there that don't have even one gay coworker or neighbor. I have lots of both, and I live in West Virginia!
In fact, in the rural subdivision where I live I have a gay couple next door, a gay couple across the street, and another gay couple who owns the farm behind my property.
I am amazed that there are people out there that don't have even one gay coworker or neighbor. I have lots of both, and I live in West Virginia!
In fact, in the rural subdivision where I live I have a gay couple next door, a gay couple across the street, and another gay couple who owns the farm behind my property.
I think a lot of straight people are in denial though, and if you attempt to explain to them, oh, so and so is gay...they usually say something like, "Oh, I bet you think everybody is gay?" --Believing you're trying to "white wash" the community as mainstream, even though its true. It's like being a ghost, ...but, a ghost that is real, that nobody believes in.
You know this is really funny? I had these neighbors; two gay guys living in back of me, and they were both very masculine with good physiques. One looked a lot like Oscar de la Hoya, and the other looked, I swear like Carl Weathers (from the 1st Rocky). I've been out of the closet a long time, and still get kind of awstruck by really masculine well built gay guys. I know it's terrible that the stereotype is so stubborn in our society that gay guys aren't masculine. But anyway they were such nice guys. Their yard was very typical of a gay male couple though, EXTREMELY NEAT, I think if a leave blew on their yard, it would be gone within an hour. Some of the women in the neighborhood didn't like the fact that they were "going to waste" oh well, ...I guess that was their problem.
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I was only seeking to show the Census Bureau stats, not be controversial!
