CDC survey on homosexuality and bisexuality

[+DieChecker]

Not sure where to put this subject, so I put it under science...

I'm not putting this on UM with an agenda, just posting this since it is interesting and worth talking about.

There has always been talk of what percentage of the population was gay/bi, but supposedly this is the first nation wide survey by a reputable source.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/health-survey-gives-government-its-first-large-scale-data-on-gay-bisexual-population/2014/07/14/2db9f4b0-092f-11e4-bbf1-cc51275e7f8f_story.html

Less than 3 percent of the U.S. population identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday in the first large-scale government survey measuring Americans’ sexual orientation.

The figures offered a slightly smaller assessment of the size of the gay, lesbian and bisexual population than other surveys, which have pegged the overall proportion at closer to 3.5 or 4 percent. In particular, the estimate for bisexuals was lower than in some other surveys.

I don't see in this article how many were in the survey, so there could be a margin of error involved with the survey size.

[StarMountainKid]

I think all these surveys result in low estimates. The problem is "identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual". I just think there's a lot of well-kept secrets out there.

A funny thing happened to me. I live in a close-knit neighborhood, and about 5 years ago the rumor was started by someone that I was gay. For about two weeks several neighborhood guys who I'd never spoken to or at least didn't know well started hanging around when I was out mowing the lawn or puttering around outside, starting conversations, etc. These were besides two neighbors who I knew were bisexual.

I couldn't figure out how all of a sudden I'd become so popular! lol until at last I heard about the rumor myself. After the two weeks or so, as I didn't show any special interest in these folks, everything went back to normal.

I know this is a anecdotal report, but in my long life experience, I'm convinced there's more to the story than people are willing to tell.

[+OverSword]

The older I get the less I care about the sexuality of others. I am concerned only that they be treated equally.

[spartan max2]

Believe it or not there are people who identify as WHO, men who have sex with men. In alot of black poverty areas for example. Because I guess for some people they dont count themselves as gay, they just have sex with men...

Im pointing this out because of the survey these men would of picked straight

[seaturtlehorsesnake]

the article actually does a good job of covering some of the difficulties involved in this sort of survey, which was good to see. when we're still struggling to find accurate terms, and when people who may identify as something other than straight still feel themselves at risk if they make it public... it's going to be difficulty to be sure of the results.

[aquatus1]

Back when I was in the biz, I knew at least one guy who had a semi-regular male lover, but who didn't identify himself as "gay". I find the more one looks into it, the greater the lack of clarity comes with these labels, to the point that one begins to consider them relatively useless for any practical purpose.

[Likely Guy]

In the long run, who really cares what the percentage is?

Answer: Marketers, and pollsters.

Edited July 16, 2014 by Likely Guy