How large is the gay population in the USA or your area?

[622675]

Now that gay marriage is a frequent topic of discussion, everyone seems to have their own set of numbers to support their own position. I know the term gay is not an all or nothing descriptor, but if you had to guess, what percentage of your community or workplace do you think would likely enjoy gay sex.

I worked for the US DOD (Army) for 30 years, and at one time four of my supervisory chain (my boss, his boss, his boss, his boss) were gay. These guys got their jobs through hard work and competition that was independent of sexual interest.

Now I am not that great with calculating statistical probability, but what this event seems to predict is that there are a lot more gay folks in the population than the 2%, 5%, or even 10% that we are told about. I would estimate at least 20% of the US Army Medical Corps would qualify as having a strong gay leaning- possibly even 30%.

What does your experience tell you?

 

[Exbiker]

I think it's about 6-7 % of the UK population.

I would think same in Europe and North America ?

There's no way it's as low as 2. I think even 4 or 5 might be low. But I also doubt it's as high as the 10% we used to read in the 1970s/80s ...

But I'm not sure much follows from the number. People deserve respect and equality whether its 1 or 5 or 15.

:smile:

 

[KuronoB]

I think your situation was an outlier, something outside of the usual/expected trend.

I work in NYC, but there are relatively few gay people in my office that I know of. Maybe ~3%. Doubling that gets to 5-6%, which should account for people with varying degrees of bisexuality and in/out status.

Your industry definitely makes a difference. The US military/DOD might be slightly less gay than the country overall, but medical corps might be more gay than average. Some industries like media/entertainment must be overflowing with gays. I have a friend who works with musical productions, and he told me that guys have to come out as straight, because the assumption is that they're gay.

 

[xmarksbreakdownx]

I live in Atlanta, and there's a very large gay population. "Midtown" is like... their heaven. Lol.

There's also a lot of "down low" guys too.

 

[umichdude9]

I'm from Ann Arbor, and there's a lot here, if I had to give a percentage at least 20%

 

[goldenf]

Not that many where I am, if they are they aren't very visible. Manchester, which is about 30 miles away, has a far larger percentage.

 

[AdamStark]

Idea: Check the amount of casual encounter postings on craigslist for your area. Compare it to elsewhere.

 

[silvian]

How much people speak about their sex appetite in the real life? how much men and women do you know that thy say to the others "yes i love some-sex act"?
how much Bi people or bi-curiouse or bi behaviours do you know?
One thing is pretty sure, more smart is the population in that area, more LGBT people you can find there.

 

[622675]

AdamS. Good idea

I live in San Antonio with a population of about 2 million. Our Craigslist server has several hundred men to men postings per day. Every gay in the area may be checking out the list, but I have no clue what percentage of the population would ever post there. Thanks for the idea. It gives me a reason to keep checking through the list.

There are a number of other indicators that suggest the gay population is much larger than the 5 – 7 percent often reported.

One example might be based on the number of companies, employers, and retailers openly soliciting gay business. My hat is off to these groups for their nod to social equality, but profit is their bottom line and that is as it should be. There must be a lot of gays out there buying things to give companies this kind of security.


Also, if the conservative estimate of 2-3 % were correct, then some of us likely have a nude picture of every gay on the planet in our collection. And YouTube likely has a short story about every gays life.

 

[Anyjoe]

Palm Springs California, I've heard is over 40%, men and women combined. I think it might be higher, lots of closeted married men. LOTS!

 

[bicuriousbc]

Very large gay and or bi Guys selection in Vancouver Bc, perhaps it's the water.

 

[HorseHung40's]

I don't think that any one population is any "gayer" than the next. I do think that some populations are more tolerant than others. Within those more tolerant populations, there is likely to be a higher degree of self-identification with being labeled "gay". This would hold true for organizations too. In homophobic offices, the likelihood that someone identifies him/herself as gay will be very low, whereas in a tolerant environment, that number will be higher.

 

[NOBBY_UK]

GoldenF
You say "Not that many where I am"
But there are quite a few Gay Bars + Clubs in Liverpool

But defo... not as many as in Manchester

 

[deleted3782]

I am the only gay in my village. All the cool people move away for better jobs.

 

[622675]

I don't think that any one population is any "gayer" than the next. I do think that some populations are more tolerant than others. Within those more tolerant populations, there is likely to be a higher degree of self-identification with being labeled "gay". This would hold true for organizations too. In homophobic offices, the likelihood that someone identifies him/herself as gay will be very low, whereas in a tolerant environment, that number will be higher.

Thanks HorseH. I agree. I expect the percent of folks with same sex interest would be about the same in any population. But I would like to know what that percentage is.

The absence of this baseline poses a threat to the gay community. A community of 10% has much more power than one with 2 %.

When a crazy leader like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran has no gays, then we need to know how many lives to hold him accountable for.

When a crazy preacher tells his congregation that all gays are doomed to hell, then we need to know how many individuals he will be apologizing to should he make it to heaven himself. I suspect Jerry Falwell will be at heavens gate kissing hands for a very long time.

 

[622675]

I am the only gay in my village. All the cool people move away for better jobs.

After looking at your gallery pics, I don’t think you will be alone for long.

 

[622675]

More accurate view of LGBT population unfolds as younger people in US, aged 18-29, identify as gay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_sexual_orientation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_demographics_of_the_United_States

 

[Trevor]

I would say in my area it is at least 10% of the population that is exclusively gay. That said, there are a lot of guys especially under 40 who are switch hitters. I live in an area with a lot of military bases and there are quite a few gay soldiers, sailors airmen and Marines in my area.

The US military especially the Navy is full of gays and always has been which IMO was one reason the Pentagon was so touchy about the subject of lifting the ban. The brass was keenly aware of how many gays they had, and wanted to keep the ban in place so everyone would just stay in the closet so they wouldn't have to address the issue of domestic partner benefits, etc.

 

[B_SeattleYo]

Seattle isn't San Fransisco, but it is close.

I'd say 10%.

I'd say general population is more like 5%.

 

[davidjh7]

You know, Seattle is supposedly the second "gayest" city in the US per capita, but I think the gay percentage in this city has actually gone down quite a bit in the last ten years.