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Would you agree with this statement. (Original Post) William769 Jul 2014 OP
exactly? no ... at least? yes ... far more? yes fishwax Jul 2014 #1
The reason I posted thaat nubber is. William769 Jul 2014 #4
No, there are more of us. hrmjustin Jul 2014 #2
More than that number. NYC_SKP Jul 2014 #3
No. About 2 million +/- more. DonViejo Jul 2014 #5
No. theHandpuppet Jul 2014 #6
I would say I'm a optimist, I would say at least 3 times. William769 Jul 2014 #7
I think it is a crock, the two percent figure you are using, as I assume you do. CBGLuthier Jul 2014 #8
See post #4. I am using what the CDC used and I do not agree with it. William769 Jul 2014 #9
Oh no, I knew you were putting the figure up to debunk it. CBGLuthier Jul 2014 #11
According to Michelle Bachmann and her wonderful husband, there arent any Gay people anywhere randys1 Jul 2014 #10
That's way too low Prophet 451 Jul 2014 #12
A lot more. Some Gays are in places where it would be foolish to reveal their... BlueJazz Jul 2014 #13
I really don't think at this point in time... theHandpuppet Jul 2014 #26
I'd put it between 20-30 million tbh between 7-10% Fearless Jul 2014 #14
Those numbers are the ones I am thinking also. William769 Jul 2014 #15
Mmm... Fearless Jul 2014 #16
Your last statement! William769 Jul 2014 #17
It continues to occur believe me! Fearless Jul 2014 #18
We have the same taste in men. William769 Jul 2014 #19
It's like people who like blondes or someone with curves... Just a part of life. Fearless Jul 2014 #23
I'm curious what the two of you consider "out". theHandpuppet Jul 2014 #27
To me someone who identifies as LGBT William769 Jul 2014 #28
You should NOT feel ashamed, William! theHandpuppet Jul 2014 #29
Now you just know this is a load of cow manure theHandpuppet Jul 2014 #20
You are being to kind in your description. William769 Jul 2014 #21
Well as my Momma would have said... theHandpuppet Jul 2014 #22
I've yet to see any truly reliable data theHandpuppet Jul 2014 #24
Seems like a low number to me. nt littlemissmartypants Jul 2014 #25
Seems low, honestly. NuclearDem Jul 2014 #30

William769

(55,124 posts)
4. The reason I posted thaat nubber is.
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 07:47 PM
Jul 2014

The CDC says that 2.3% of Americans are LGB and if you take the population I am guessing is at about 317 million, that's how I came up with that number.

This is one time I will strongly disagree with the CDC.

Link to the article. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/15/gay-lesbian-bisexual-cdc-survey/12671717/

Grant you They are going by what people told them but I know the older generation does not give out that information as freely as the younger generation would.

CBGLuthier

(12,723 posts)
8. I think it is a crock, the two percent figure you are using, as I assume you do.
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 08:03 PM
Jul 2014

On my block, in Oklahoma City, the heart of gay america, there is one lesbian couple and one single. In my neighborhood there are at least two or three gay men I know of. My best friend is bi but currently involved in a gay relationship. I prefer to believe the old M/J statistics of about ten percent. I have known many gay and lesbian folks throughout the years all here in one of the most oppressive states in the union.

CBGLuthier

(12,723 posts)
11. Oh no, I knew you were putting the figure up to debunk it.
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 08:27 PM
Jul 2014

I had seen that stat released the other day and disagreed at the time so i wanted to share my, admittedly anecdotal, evidence as to why I too disagreed.

randys1

(16,286 posts)
10. According to Michelle Bachmann and her wonderful husband, there arent any Gay people anywhere
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 08:11 PM
Jul 2014

just confused people

But, as to the number, has to be more, hell, there are that many Gay people on HGTV

Prophet 451

(9,796 posts)
12. That's way too low
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 08:31 PM
Jul 2014

The CDC might say that LGB people are 2.3% but that relies on self-identification and there's loads of men (for example) who are sexually attracted to other men but don't identify as gay for various reasons.

I would think the real number was at least double that and possibly quadruple that once you include all the "straight except for Brad Pitt" (or whoever). From my personal experiences, the M/J figure of roughly 10% sounds about right.

 

BlueJazz

(25,348 posts)
13. A lot more. Some Gays are in places where it would be foolish to reveal their...
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 08:44 PM
Jul 2014

...sexual orientation. Not every place is open minded and some can be downright dangerous.

theHandpuppet

(19,964 posts)
26. I really don't think at this point in time...
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 10:56 PM
Jul 2014

... that it's even possible to conduct an accurate survey. 10-20 years from now I think you'd find the results would be very different.

Fearless

(18,421 posts)
16. Mmm...
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 09:13 PM
Jul 2014

It could really vary quite a bit... especially in the bisexual category. It still behooves a bisexual person greatly to just say they're straight to pass in society. Plus most people don't count "that one time" I was attracted to a person of the same sex as making them bisexual.

One thing I've always been profoundly good at was figuring out closeted guys. (Much to my own detriment I might add!!) There are people out there would could be having sex with a member of the same sex right now and still consider themselves straight. Who knows how many of them there are. (In my experience, way way too many!)

Fearless

(18,421 posts)
18. It continues to occur believe me!
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 09:35 PM
Jul 2014

When I was first out and building confidence and so forth, it made it easier really. I really can pick them out with near 100% certainty. They tended to be shy about it and not more "out there" than I was at the time. So it was easy and they tended not to be clingy.

Buuuut, as time went on, I was still very able to pick them out, only now I was confident about my sexuality (not merely just accepting it) and they weren't the type I was looking for. The problem is however that I'm very attracted to "traditionally" masculine guys... sports, cars, the outdoors, etc... though not beer guzzling and ubermasculine... and less so attracted to the rest (I hate stereotyping people, but it's preference). So who tries to be masculine and such... the closeted gay guy. Thus the problem that I get into sometimes. He's really hot.. but turns out he's in the closet and I'm looking for something long term now. So frustrating!!

William769

(55,124 posts)
19. We have the same taste in men.
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 09:42 PM
Jul 2014

When I was younger and living in Miami, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I had more home runs than strikeouts with straight men.

Call it curiosity or whatever but a straight man was not that hard to get.

I don't like to stereotype either but when you describe it as a preference, there is not much else you can do.

Fearless

(18,421 posts)
23. It's like people who like blondes or someone with curves... Just a part of life.
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 09:51 PM
Jul 2014

And I was the same throughout college. Granted I lived in a very liberal part of the nation. I could still fall into that trap if I wasn't careful.

William769

(55,124 posts)
28. To me someone who identifies as LGBT
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 11:09 PM
Jul 2014

Does not hide who they are, if asked will answer honestly. I don't mean someone needs to go screaming through the neighborhood that they are LGBT but are not afraid to identify as a LGBT person. I hope that makes sense.

For the record, in my younger years when I was in Law Enforcement back in the 80's, I was closeted, to the extent in many situations I would have lied that I was a Gay man. I still feel ashamed today that I did that but I did so out of survival in my career (in that same situation today, I would be out).

theHandpuppet

(19,964 posts)
29. You should NOT feel ashamed, William!
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 11:26 PM
Jul 2014

Even now, being out can be dangerous. It can cost people their jobs, their families, even their lives. Everyone's situation is different. The only closeted LGBTs for whom I have no sympathy are the hypocrites who are out there campaigning against LGBT rights or are campaigning for our enemies, like the LCRs do.

What gets me, I guess, are the folks who aren't even out to themselves. I've known people in relatively long term gay relationships who would deny that they're gay. That takes a level of denial I simply can't comprehend.

theHandpuppet

(19,964 posts)
20. Now you just know this is a load of cow manure
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 09:42 PM
Jul 2014

1.6%???

Riiiiiiight.

http://time.com/2987183/gay-census-bisexual-cdc/
U.S. Census Bureau Finds 1.6% of Adults Identify as Gay
Dan Kedmey
July 15, 2014

Another 0.7% identified as bisexual, and 1.1% said "something else" or didn't answer

For the first time in 57 years the U.S. Census Bureau has surveyed adults on their sexual orientation, and the results published Tuesday show that 1.6% of adults aged 18 or over identified as gay, while another 0.7% identified as bisexual....

theHandpuppet

(19,964 posts)
24. I've yet to see any truly reliable data
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 10:33 PM
Jul 2014

This study hits a bit closer to the mark. For many folks sexuality is fluid and how they might declare on some census or survey would lead to wildly inaccurate results.

http://mic.com/articles/67401/how-many-lgbt-people-in-the-u-s-it-s-a-harder-question-than-you-think
So What Do We Know?

Gary Gates of the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimates that about 3.8% of adults identify as LGBT, and that's about 9 million Americans. Even more interesting, 8.2% of Americans have reported same-sex sexual behaviors and 11% acknowledge at least some same-sex attraction. These are no small numbers and remember that even these numbers don't tell the whole story of nonstandard sexual identity, but they do give us a rough idea that about 1 in 10 to 20 people (5-100% of the population) are gay, have gay feelings that they don't express, or are otherwise not strictly heterosexual...

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