One-Third of Americans Under 30 Say They’re Not Totally Heterosexual

This thread is useless without pictures.

[quote]This thread is useless without pictures.

Yes, where's The Daily Mail coverage?

Just don't call them "gay."

Almost a Third of Millennials Don't Identify as Fully Straight or Gay

The younger the person, the more likely they were to say their sexuality was fluid

Celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Kristen Stewart are refusing to let people label their sexualities. And they're definitely not alone. According to a new survey, more and more young people are recognizing that sexuality doesn't have to be an "either-or" decision.

Opinion database YouGov surveyed 1,000 Americans about sexuality and asked them where they landed on the Kinsey scale, a spectrum of sexuality where 0 is completely heterosexual and 6 is completely homosexual. (The Kinsey scale was developed in the 1940s and is sometimes criticized for being outdated. But the study results are still a fascinating look at changing sexuality.)

Among respondents who were 18 to 29 years old, only 64 percent said they were exclusively heterosexual, and 2 percent said they were exclusively homosexual; 29 percent landed somewhere in the middle of the scale, and the rest said they weren't sure. And it's not just an American phenomenon; YouGov also found that half of young British people identified as somewhere in the middle as well.

Younger people were also more likely to believe that sexuality existed on a scale. The older the respondent, the less likely they were to say their sexuality was fluid, though 12 percent of heterosexual respondents said they had a sexual encounter with a member of the same sex. Only 8 percent of respondents who were 45 to 64 said they ranked between 1 and 5 on the Kinsey scale.

Stewart, for her part, totally predicted this in an interview earlier this year. "I think in three or four years, there are going to be a whole lot more people who don't think it's necessary to figure out if you're gay or straight," she said. "It's like, just do your thing.

From what I can tell there's only one new cast member

"Erika Jayne Joins Cast of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for Season 6"

Oh, dear ...sorry, wrong thread.

Bisexuals are hot

10% of the men in the study identified as gay or bi, as did 8% of women.

It's all of those plastics and soy they've ingested via their mothers and as children. Hormones are now all over the place.

Uh huh

Even the ones who are hetero don't seem uptight about it like they were 10-20 years ago.

I went sailing this weekend with my friend, and his son (21) brought two of his friends with him. We slept on the boat, the 3 college aged guys had no problem sharing beds with each other. When I was that age (20 years ago) it would have been unheard of for straight guys to share a bed, at least without making some big deal proclaiming "I'm not gay!" or "You stay on your side!". These guys didn't care at all.

Things are changing.

Most young minellias today are different from my generation, I was a teenager in the mid to late ninties and bisexuality was never discussed. It was viewed as a taboo, If you were bisexual you were considered an extreme weirdo.

Bisexuals were considered cool on many college campuses in the 90s. That's when the term "bi till graduation" became popular.

Here's the graph of the poll results. The men who rate themselves as a Kinsey 1 are very gay-limited. Their same-sex activity would be limited to blowing their favorite sports hero, like a Tom Brady. Or perhaps an Aaron Rodgers.

Pay attention, Rethuglicans, and be on the front of the curve for a change.

Actually, R14 shows the Great Britain results. Here are the US results.

Sigh, some people do not understand the concept of "sample bias"

minellias?

[quote]found nearly one-half of British

British = irrelevant poll

They would have polled the same numbers in 1977, during the initial Rocky Horror phase and with Bowie and Freddie Mercury ruling music.

Ask 45 year olds for a clearer picture -- ask Holly Near and Tom Robinson.

R20, you're high, dude

R20, 45-year old were children in 1977

I'm saying kids under 30 are more suseptible to fashion -- the kids ten years ago were probably all bashing Brokeback.

R23, hardly anyone under 25 identifies as bi or gay, maybe 5% of people are queer. These polls reflect sample bias and in the real world young men do not see homosexuality as "cool" that is why tons of female actors say they are bi but male actors don't.

Gay dating sites do not attract nearly the number that straight ones do, gay porn does not sell what straight porn does

Not long ago someone linked to a poll about dating and sex that was done on various college campuses across America - at every single school, the number of students identifying as gay or bi was around 2%. Even at the more elite schools like Harvard, the number was not over 4% or so. So, no, the vast majority of young people - even educated ones - do not identify as anything other than straight. This poll is misleading - if you sat down and asked straight people if they MIGHT be a Kinsey 1 instead of a zero maybe some will say they have a slight attraction to the same sex, but that doesn't mean they identify as anything other than straight in their everyday life. And plenty of Kinsey 6s claim to be Kinsey 5s so they'll seem more open-minded

R17/R24 Sigh, some people are just so anxious to parade around their supposed knowledge, and drop names of concepts they learned in college, that they don't even bother researching whether those concepts apply to the situation they're critiquing.

Yougov panels are built, and weighed, to be representative of the census population. "Sampling bias" is therefore not an issue, as you can see in their press release, where it is taken for granted that their results apply to the general US adult population. What might account for the discrepancy between Yougov and other surveys as to the number of LGB people is how data are collected. Previous Yougov research shows that LGBs are less likely to accurately portray their sexual orientation on a survey depending both on its degree of anonymity and who they're with, so I guess that Yougov, based on its previous findings, dodged the face-to-face methodology which evokes social desirability bias and produces small numbers for LGB identity, and did instead an internet survey, where people tend to be more honest about themselves. In 2010, Indiana University did a nationally representative survey on 6,000 people using an online questionnaire which had almost 7% of men identifying as gay or bi.

As to "hardly anyone under the age of 25 identifying as gay or bi", the 2014 General Social Survey had over 6% of men aged 35 to 39 identifying as gay or bi, as you can see below.

On topic after topic, Yougov is an outlier in American polling, including recently on same-sex marriage support. These survey results should be viewed as unsubstantiated until other major pollsters replicate them.

Um, what?

[quote]A September–October 2014 YouGov poll found 48% of Americans favor same-sex marriage, 39% oppose, and 13% weren't sure.[18]

[quote]A Pew Research Center poll released in September 2014 found 49% of Americans favor same-sex marriage, 41% oppose, and 10% don't know.[19]

R28, you need to learn how to find recent polls dude:

YouGov: 49% of Americans favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally while 41% oppose allowing same sex marriage.

Gallup: WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' views on gay marriage are stable following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that made same-sex marriage a right nationwide. The nearly six in 10 Americans (58%) who say gay marriages should be valid is similar to Gallup's findings in May.

Um, dude, the Yougov poll I brought up is from mid-to-late 2014; The Gallup one you brought up is from post SC decision.

And you said Yougov is an outlier - but Pew Research Center had very close results to Yougov for marriage support in the same period.

"Previous Yougov research shows that LGBs are less likely to accurately portray their sexual orientation on a survey depending both on its degree of anonymity and who they're with, so I guess that Yougov, based on its previous findings, dodged the face-to-face methodology which evokes social desirability bias and produces small numbers for LGB identity, and did instead an internet survey, where people tend to be more honest about themselves. "

You don't get it do you? Other anonymous surveys show that far, far less than 1/3 of young people identify as non-hetero. If there were as many queer guys as you want to believe then gay guys could just wander into any straight bar and pick up a guy but that's clearly not the way it is. If as many men were attracted to men as you want to believe then Playgirl would have sold as much as Playgirl. The college survey I mentioned at r25, was anonymous, too. You must believe every "press release" you read. People who are not straight are more likely to participate in a "sexual identity" survey than people who are 100% hetero

[quote]You don't get it do you? Other anonymous surveys show that far, far less than 1/3 of young people identify as non-hetero

Derp, Yougov is not showing that 1/3 of youths identify as non-hetero - it is showing that 1/3 place themselves as something other than 0 on the Kinsey scale. That doesn't say much about how they self-identify, whether as straight or not. In their UK survey, for example, most of those who placed themselves on Kinsey scale points 1 and 2 still identified as straight.

You should really give a study a read before thinking you can debunk it.

I have no idea how your survey was built and how students filled out the questions, but if its showing that [italic]even among young people[/italic], those identifying as LGB are just 4%, then [italic]it[/italic] is the outlier. In surveys of under-30 people, Gallup found that 6.4% identify as LGB; The Public Religion Research Institute in 2014 found 7%; and the General Social Survey's results for years 2012-2014 8%.

r32, you only attack people who are debunking it because you want to believe that no men are really hetero. If you want to believe that 1/3 of men are interested in men, with stats from online porn viewing and dating sites directly contradicting that, then go ahead. Don't let me stop you. Go ahead and go to the nearest straight bar and hit on every guy you see. Have fun getting turned down by all of them.

Sex surveys in general are not accurate because people who CHOOSE to participate in them do not represent average people.

R33 LOL, I never said any of those things - that 1/3 of of men are interested in other men or that no man is really hetero. I do believe men - most men - are totally hetero, and I'm very skeptical of the idea of long-enduring malleability in male sexual attraction. And in contrast with the vast majority of the Datalounge gays, I don't partake in the hobby of pretending every other famous guy out there is a closet gay just so I have an excuse to creep on him.

These provocative strawmen are just distractions to avoid commenting on my post, showing that you completely misread the study; supposing that you actually read it, which I'm sure you didn't.

Take my advice - read a study before passing comment on it. Giving yourself airs of sharp critic works a lot better when you criticize with knowledge.

r35, why don't you learn something about sample bias. It's not just about demographics, it's about willingness to participate in studies like this. No one is forced to participate and as long as studies are voluntary the results do not reflect what average people feel or believe. You obviously don't understand this concept so I'm not sure why I'm even engaging with you.

You accuse me of misreading the study when you don't understand studies in general and why most of them are useless.

And I can't tell you how many gays I know who insist that they are Kinsey 4s or 5s but haven't been near a vagina. They won't delude themselves into thinking they are 100% straight but they pretend they are less gay than they are to seem more manly or more adventurous or something.

R36 [quote] You accuse me of misreading the study when you don't understand studies in general and why most of them are useless.

Oh, I get it. [italic]When you[/italic] cite studies showing low rates of LGB identification, then that's proof that this one survey is riddled with bias.

But [italic]when I[/italic] show you a bunch of community-based surveys - online and offline - showing elevated rates of LGB identification among the young, then we should just consider all studies biased and suspend our judgment on them all.

I hope I'm not the only one who can see that you're only insisting with this because you're desperate to win this debate, even if you have to change your arguments around and just spout anti-scientific nonsense such as that most sociological surveys should just be disregarded (especially when they do you no favors to win arguments on the internet, I suppose).

Unless we have the response rate to a given study, we can't say just how much bias it is expected to contain. If a given survey has a 100% response rate among a representative sample, then it's results are very highly reliable. It's nonsense which you made up that most of them are inherently useless. If you knew a thing about this subject, if you were not just some armchair critic, you would know that. And if you're not protected by your anonymity, you'd've butted out of this debate out of embarrassment a while ago. Only on Datalounge, people will insist on being such cheeky bitches for being wrong.

Market research panels such as Yougov take measures to ensure maximum representativeness to their samples. Yougov, for example, pays a monetary incentive to panel members, so that those taking part in its surveys will not just be people who have a personal motivation to do so.

And in most sexual orientation demographics research, people are not asked in depth questions about their sex lives - only their sexual orientation will do - which helps prevent the voluntary bias seen in in depth sex research surveys. And by the way, demographic characteristics do play a part in provoking voluntary bias, something that I can see you didn't know before. The educated, the liberal, and females, for example, are more likely to take up surveys. Such distortions can be corrected by weighing the sample.

It isn't just the studies that you should read before criticizing, to avoid embarrassment - get informed about the methodology, too.

[quote] And I can't tell you how many gays I know who insist that they are Kinsey 4s or 5s but haven't been near a vagina. They won't delude themselves into thinking they are 100% straight but they pretend they are less gay than they are to seem more manly or more adventurous or something.

Which has zero to do with any argument I made. Are you just going to post incoherent nonsense just to give the appearance that you do have something to say?

* volunteer bias

I got something to say!

R37, you obviously have a very low IQ, and do not understand why sex surveys have little value. But believe what you want to believe. If you can't understand why people who choose to participate in a study like this would not represent the average person.

Granted, the British poll represents 18-24, while the American poll represents 18-29. Still, I'd be interested to see if the American percentage of not 100% hetero people increases if it goes down to 18-24? Or are British youth, like Harry Styles, simply more culturally open to same sex sexual experiences?

The anti-bullying message is huge in schools these days. So are the children. When kids are no longer made fun of for being fat, the prone to overweight do what they enjoy without worry of being made fun of, eat.

Same thing with bullying gay, gay acting or gay leaning adolescents. All that pervasive social pressure to conform to a hetero model is FAR lower for the kids coming up. They are not being ostracized for being different as you were. It IS a different world.

R24 thank you dude, SOMEBODY gets it.

Being a bi or gay MALE is still the worst thing that a MAN can be in culture

It's a lot easier for women and even encouraged or considered cool or trendy for A LOT of reasons, reason #1 is that women still aren't considered as equal to men and treated like second class citizens because they're female so so what if she's gay or bi, she's a woman she's not that important anyway and it's a huge turn on if she's bi and really hot. This is how straight men, the overwhelming majority, think.

But for a MAN to say that he's bi or gay it's viewed by straight men as an insult to "manhood" and a HUGE disappointment that someone who's lucky enough to be born male would be a fag.

It's like the QB on our high school football team played a great game and only gad 1 interception and threw 4 touchdowns to win the game at 28-24 but he's also gay. And the reaction from straight guys and even some women is like "What really, EW why would he lower himself and like dudes, what the hell is wrong with him"?

It's like the QB on our high school football team played a great game and only gad 1 interception and threw 4 touchdowns to win the game at 28-24 but he's also gay. And the reaction from straight guys and even some women is like "What really, EW

'QB and EW'...do you talk this way in real life?

I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

Wow, R43 is projecting a lot. Not sure if what he says is true or just angry and mental.

He's overly concerned with what 'they' think.

R44 QB is for Quarterback and "Ew" is the reaction that straight guys have to guys they idolize and look up to when they come out as gay. Even straight guys who say that "They're cool with it" it's still looked at as a huge come down of your manhood to admit to finding guys attractive

I've had guys that I was friends with say to me "You don't seem gay, how can you find another guy attractive and not women, I don't get it. You must of been molested when you were younger since you don't act gay and you're masculine".

Once again MALE bi or homosexuality will NEVER EVER EVER be considered cool or trendy or even hot in our culture like women's bi or homosexuality is.

And the closet lives on.

[quote]Once again MALE bi or homosexuality will NEVER EVER EVER be considered cool or trendy or even hot in our culture

But have you noticed what is?

R47, you have a lot of internalized homophobia. You should seek counseling. Regardless if what you say is true or not, you need counseling.

[quote]I've had guys that I was friends with say to me "You don't seem gay, how can you find another guy attractive and not women, I don't get it.

Are you lonely in your world and angry that you don't fit in?

Have you found gay guys similar to yourself? Or do you feel you're the only one?

I mean...

R48 I said WOMEN ' S bisexuality and homosexuality is and even encouraged by the same people who hate gay men

If it was up to straight guys, EVERY woman would be bisexual and NO MAN would be gay, they would all be straight and "normal".

[quote]If it was up to straight guys, EVERY woman would be bisexual and NO MAN would be gay, they would all be straight and "normal".

Well, obviously.

I think The Truth needs to be FF'd now. He's trolling.

[quote]I think The Truth needs to be FF'd now. He's trolling.

I don't. Just because he has feelings you don't necessarily like doesn't mean he's trolling.

He's having trouble coming to terms with himself, that's all.

Oh my.

HAH. That's because they are high on drugs all the time.

R55 guys I'm neither trolling nor having trouble coming to terms with myself I'm just REPEATING things that gave been said to me throughout my life and experiences.

I'm in my early 30s so at this point in my life I have and suurround myself with great people of all walks of life and no longer need validation from ignorant straight people

I also have no internal homphobia, in fact I now love being gay but the bullshit that you have to put up with is insane and is ONLY thrown at gay men on our society

I think only you put up with.

[quote]I'm in my early 30s

Yet you still talk about 'the QB on our high school"

& "will NEVER EVER EVER be considered cool or trendy or even hot in our culture"

I thought you were about 19.

Time to grow up and stop worrying about the 'cool dudes in your high school' and their hot chicks think about you, the gays, the world or you'll never be happy.

What YOU think is what matters.

'but the bullshit that you have to put up with is insane and is ONLY thrown at gay men on our society'

True, it's not easy...but on some level you still agree with the cool str8 dudes who wish all the girls were bi and the gays would just disappear and all that shit, because you don't like yourself very much.

Start loving yourself more. I mean REALLY loving yourself. May feel strange at first...but it's the answer.

Those idiots and their views will just fall away. You won't even hear their voices anymore.

R60 I'm talking about how gay/bi men are viewed by straight people, the majority, which is also why a lot of guys won't confess or even experiment with other guys, because of the insane taboo from straight people.

But I no longer feel like I need validation from straight people, so I'm basically like fuck them.

A lot of the experiences that I listed happened when I was in my teens or early 20s, I'm bringing it up because it's relevant to the story of people who are in college and under 30, so I'd figure I would share my experiences of being an openly gay, masculine, star of high school baseball team man during that time in life

'so I'd figure I would share my experiences of being an openly gay, masculine, star of high school baseball team man during that time in life'

You weren't doing that, you were talking as if about someone else.

So this, the QB, is about you, right?

'the QB on our high school football team played a great game and only gad 1 interception and threw 4 touchdowns to win the game at 28-24 but he's also gay.'

PLUS:-

'But I no longer feel like I need validation from straight people, so I'm basically like fuck them.'

& that wasn't your attitude at all, the way you spoke about their views and the general attitudes towards gays not being cool and groovy in the fantastic hip world of cool dudes and their hot bi chicks.

R62 yes the QB was me except I played baseball, 3rd baseman and shortstop and was quite popular. And many of those things that I quoted was actually said to me, numerous times.

I know it sounds dumb all these years later but it still hurts and 5 he hypocrisy of certain straight people never ceases to amaze me. How can you promote it with women but despise and hate it when it comes to men?

It's the same fucking thing

[quote]I know it sounds dumb all these years later but it still hurts

You keep making shit up and contradicting yourself.

R64 um ok, I don't know where I contradicted myself or made shit up?

My personal opinion is that there is no way that 1/3 of people under the age of 30 are running around claiming not to be fully heterosexual

No way

It would be nice but not for years yet when the stigma of male/male sexuality starts to be removed. We have a long way to go

Only because you don't want them too. If you came to my gym, 1/2 are gay or bi...probably more.

*to...

R66 that would be nice and maybe they are but I guarantee you that they're probably not open about it.

That's another thing, there is still a lot of gay/bi men who appear straight and who are not open about it at all as opposed to "bi" girls who will kiss a girl while drunk once and tell everyone who will listen that they're"bi" as it's something to be proud of.

Where do you live R68?

I think people exaggerate how many straight women will lie about being bi. Many are openly disgusted about same sex sex. Nothing goes beyond kissing on the lips.

I mean, you're so angry. I'm just trying to figure out your anger. You're 30. Have you been rejected a lot?

R70 I don't know, I've heard straight women say that they love gay men But are grossed out at gay male porn or even kissing But are fine with lesbian kissing and even porn if they HAD TO WATCHED PORN they would even prefer straight or lesbian

You guys gotta understand, women are objectified about 100 time sore then men in our culture, when the average person thinks of nudity they think of a nude, busy woman. Because of that women are almost conditioned at an early age to also objectify and find other women pretty

That's what makes being a gay male so damn radical to society still because you're rejecting women's bodies and saying that you're not attracted to them like society wants everyone else to be.

It still is a radical concept if you think about it

And I still think that straight men and even some women punish gay men EVERYDAY for not wanting pussy

R71 I've only been rejected by straight guys when I was younger and had a thing for a couple of them now I'm in a relationship, about a year, with my closeted bisexual roommate

Are you sure you're not making things up?

Where do you live?

Shreveport

Have you sought a psychiatrist?

R75 I live in Cherry Hill New Jersey right outside of Philadelphia and a very liberal area

R77 why? This is just my OPINION brought in with life experiences. I'm actually at a happy place right now as I'm in a great relationship and I surround myself with good friends, many of whom agree with me on these things.

You live in Louisiana, so your attitude about gays and your friends attitude about gays doesn't surprise me. Do you guys discuss other groups of people? Jews? Blacks? Are you black?

[quote]I'm actually at a happy place right now as I'm in a great relationship

Yes, so you said:-

[quote]now I'm in a relationship, about a year, with my closeted bisexual roommate

R81 respect HIS decision to be closeted but I'm not and I think eventually he'll come out

The Truth, why don't you change your name to "My Opinion"?

The largest parade in almost every city in the country is the gay parade. And you idiots are still trying to minimize our numbers. I think you have no brains. All surveys, including these, vastly understate gay identity.

Oh man, R84 is as dumb as a rock. Most of the people at pride parades are gawking straights. It's taken the place of the circus for entertainment.

True r85

If AIDS had never come along, I think that acceptance of same sex attraction would be much greater today.

[quote]If AIDS had never come along, I think that acceptance of same sex attraction would be much greater today.

Without a doubt.

R85 sadly, this is true. I think most of the eldergays here haven’t been to one in a while. It’s all just corporatized horseshit filled with straight people criticizing any behavior that might be inappropriate for like Braedyn to see.

Everyone is bisexual, academics have been saying that since the goddamn 1960's and nobody listened to them.