Who we are

[TheHiddenMe]

I ran across this article from Gallup today and thought members would find it interesting.

The overall survey was approximately 15,000 responses, with approximately 700 LGBTQ individuals included in the 15,000 total. The margin of error for the LGBTQ results is +/- 5%, so take these results with a grain of salt.

Overall, this survey suggests approximately .6% of the US population identifies as TG. Overall, 5.6% of the population identifies as LGBTQ, with about half identifying as bi-sexual.

Also, the survey shows than younger people tend to identify as LGBTQ (or as TG). I know in my personal interaction younger people seem to be more tolerant.

The survey also includes this statement in the conclusion:


The pronounced generational differences raise questions about whether higher LGBT identification in younger than older Americans reflects a true shift in sexual orientation, or if it merely reflects a greater willingness of younger people to identify as LGBT. To the extent it reflects older Americans not wanting to acknowledge an LGBT orientation, the Gallup estimates may underestimate the actual population prevalence of it.

Here is the article. Hope you find it interesting and informative too.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/329708/lgbt-identification-rises-latest-estimate.aspx

[Jean 103]

I wouldn't trust anything they said.

The difference between young and old is pretty big for a lot of reasons. Primarily they are different places in their life. Older people are committed, have made commitments.

Younger people are freer, as they have not made these same commitments.

Also the flow of information makes a big difference between the generations.

So yes older people are in the closet more, even some of those that are in transition.

[CharlotteCD]

I'd echo the above - it's much easier to define yourself when you're young, with no job, mortgage, children and so on.

I'm fighting against myself right now because of all of those things, and the fact that I've established than my male self. I therefore find I won't or can't rock the boat, and I'm certainly not silly enough to think my circumstances are unique.

[Michellebej]

I'd agree with most of the statements above and ad that there are any number of studies among women concerning bisexuality. Those numbers are much greater than 3.1 percent. in some large demographics, such as white college educated females, the response rate to have had at least one bisexual encounter was over 60 percent. It showed a propensity towards bisexuality as women grew older. Lastly when when the question was changed to "have you ever considered same sex; been sexually attracted to another woman, or had same sex" the response rate was close to 75 percent in most studies.

Reading those studies and then seeing this survey where only 3.1 percent of the general pop shows that these results were probably very skewed. Even accounting for the low response rate in men this survey should have shown a postitive response rate of over 20 percent.

[Aunt Kelly]

The skew, by age, is not at all surprising to me. Yes, my assessment if far from rigorously scientific, but look...
We know that this forum's population is weighted significantly by members "of a certain age". I see, on the regular, comments like, "I'd transition tomorrow if I wasn't already<insert age here>."
The paucity of Gen-X and younger members here also supports the notion that they're identifying and assimilating far more readily than we did.

I'm still wrapping my head around the numbers - 27,000 TG folk in greater Houston, two million nation wide. No wonder Marjorie Taylor Greene (https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/25/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-anti-transgender-sign/index.html) wants us to embrace fake science. She must be terrified. :)

[Teresa]

HiddenMe,
I guess if you put all the polls and surveys together the whole of society would be slotted into a stack of convenient boxes .

Jean makes a good point and shows to a degree how responsibilites of adults have changed . I'm sure many of my generation were possibly married with a mortgage round their necks and kids on the way in their early twenties . While TG issues may not go away they do get pushed onto the back burner till life eases off a little . I personally feel that's why it hits many of us hard in our forties , it's about the time we tend to take stock and consider our lives , so many of us talk of coming out finally in our forties .

Could there also be an element of younger people today wanting to be different , or truthfully are the figures that different just because we now have so many polls informing and misinforming us today , how many do we truly believe and how much is just BS ?

[kayegirl]

I'm with Jean also. Gallop polls are about as reliable as a chocolate fireguard, and even less use.

[TheHiddenMe]

This is a survey of 15,000 people in the US. The numbers are the numbers (within the normal margin of error). What the numbers mean is certainly open to interpretation.

Personally, I think the actual percentage of gays/lesbian/bi/trans folks probably hasn't changed much over time; the real percentages are probably virtually same now as they were 50 years ago. What HAS changed is the stigma of being LGBT is a lot less, and the personal and financial risks are a lot less. Therefore, people are more willing to admit their status now than they would 50 years ago.

Personally, I wouldn't even post comments on this board five years ago. I've gone from that to where I not only go out, I write blog posts with my pictures on a weekly basis.

There is also a lot more information available now. There are also a lot more forums to express gender, or to meet individuals with mutual gender expression.

I just read a tweet than said that between 1 in 500 and 1 in 750 don't have the standard XX or XY chromosomes. Contrary to the aforementioned MTG, there really are more than two genders.

The population doesn't fit into neat boxes. There are lots of shades of grey.

But just do the numbers. If the .6% is "correct" (it's a "God only knows" number), that means in a country with 330 million people, there are 2 million people who identify as trans, who range in a spectrum from those who just choose to wear an item of clothing to those who choose to fully transition.

As to the doubters about polls, if you poll 15,000 people, the math says you are likely to get a pretty good estimate of the true underlying population. It's called the law of large numbers, and 15,000 is an extremely large survey.

[candykowal]

It's always nice to hear "We are not alone!"
I remember, as a preteen, I had to read about trannies and drag queens in porn magazines to read anything about people like me.
I was born in a two gender society and anything else was taboo, but the age of Aquarius was bringing change.
It was really disappointing till I starting seeing a psychiatrist about my dysphoria, back in the mid 70's.
He showed me medical and alternate media publications that suggested a fifth of the population have genetic issues with how they identify.
But you couldn't see that info in the mainstream very often unless there was a incident, like the Stonewall uprising.
The disco crowd turn to Metrosexual, and the new Century brought us a broader understanding that continues to expand.
Today, I am glad to see there is more talk about all this in general....

[Beverley Sims]

Five percent looks about right, seeing the populace go through the turnstiles there are about four to five people out of every hundred I tend to wonder about.

coloured hair, body piercings, outlandish dressing, all occupy a five percent group, the normals?, about fourty five point six percent. :-)

[Teresa]

Bev,
I knew we'd met somewhere , I must have followed you through a turnstile thinking you knew where you were going so we both ended up going round in circles , nice being a minority isn't it ?

HiddenMe ,
The problem with most polls is it's not the question they ask so much as the questions they fail to ask .

I had to photograph a poll on an industrail development in a small rural community . The people were asked the questions but when some wanted to add details or ask an associated question the pollster had to tell them it wasn't part of the poll being conducted . The development got the go ahead on the basis of the majority not having an objection , Ok the right number of boxes were ticked but it wasn't the true picture from what I witnessed .