Does anyone have a clue as to the percentage of gays

[King Coal]

in the general population?

[Bertha Venation]

1. low estimate 2%, high 10%

Realistically, 6-10%. This is going by various research & papers I've read over the last 15 years. The low estimate is from religious or right wing "research" groups, like the Family Research Council.

[Cannikin]

2. Depends on which political party's scientists you ask.....

Conservative estimates around 1-3%

While more liberal estimates say anywhere from 5-10%


There are so many studies, but yet many are afraid to 'come out' and declare themselves gay for these surveys.

There was a poll here on DU that was at 18% when I last saw it.....let me see if I can find it.....



Hi Bertha! :hi:

[Bertha Venation]

13. Hi, C.

:hi:

[soleft]

3. At work 4% of my dept. is gay

[htuttle]

4. I'm not even sure it's as simple as that

From what I've read, there appears to be far more of a continuum of preference between hetero and homosexual, rather than a stark 'gay/straight' division.

Many (most?) are predominately one or the other, but then there are a fair number in the middle who's orientation sort of stays 'indeterminate' at any given time until they are asked, "Are you gay or straight?" This causes their wave function to collapse and they provide an answer.

So I'm not entirely sure that a percentage would be an accurate way to express the situation, unless there were more than just 2 answers (gay or straight) available.

ps. wasn't it the first Kinsey report that stated this?

[arcane1]

10. cool, quantum mechanics and sexual preference

gotta love that! :D

[brainwashed_youth]

5. 5%

last I heard

[Bill McBlueState]

6. the lower bound

Even if it's one percent, that's still one out of every 100 people. I suspect that's higher than the percentage of the population affected by the estate tax, and the right wing sure rushed to *their* defense when they were supposedly being treated unfairly.

And that's 2.9 million gay Americans who need equal protection under the law.

[Cannikin]

7. But keep in mind where you heard it and who payed for the study...

We all know how accurate Bush administration science is!

[TankLV]

8. Low of 10% - more like 20%

nt

[TrogL]

9. Define "gay"

If you mean "throws up at the sight of a woman" - probably 1%.
If you mean "looks approvingly at the male/female physiques in a muscle magazine" - probably 99%.

[LiberalFighter]

11. Keep in mind the geography and other factors

Would gays/lesbians reveal themselves to any poll in rural or small towns?

How long would gays/lesbians remain in rural or small towns before moving to bigger cities so they blend in and reduce discrimination.

[Dookus]

12. throw a sixpack into the equation

and it approaches 100%

[Scottie72]

14. Darn...

You bet me to it!

[Silverhair]

15. Depends on how you define gay.

A person can be totally homosexual, or totally straight, or varying degrees in between. The strictest definition naturally yields the lowest estimate - around 2%. The loosest definition which would include predominately straight people but who sometimes play with the gay side too gives the highest estimate - around 10%

For the pure gays, the marriage issue will be a big item - obviously. But for the basically straight ones who enjoy brief ventures in the other world, they have no interest in having a "gay marriage" as they are often in "normal" marriages already.

[Pontus]

16. True, I have known several women...

who have had sex with other women but really resent the term bi-sexual and do not identify themselves as gay in any way -- one actually quite hostile to gay rights.

So if one asked then in a survey if they have ever had sex with a member of their own gender they would probably say yes -- that explains the "10%" figure in some surveys. However, actual homosexuals I have read are about 3% of men and 1.5% of women.