A recent report from Gallup reflects an all-time high in the number of Americans who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. According to the report, the LGBT percentage of the total population has doubled from 3.5% to 7.1% in approximately 10 years.
As one could reasonably expect, LGBT self-identification was more common among young people. For example, about 11% of millennials and 21% of Gen Z identified this way. That’s right, roughly 1 in 5 Zoomers says they are gay or transgender. This is in contrast with only 4% of Gen Xers and 3% of baby boomers.
Many in society will attribute this increase to the rise in social acceptance for sexual and gender minorities. As a former sex researcher and a straight woman who grew up in the gay community, I question the extent to which this assumption is true. First of all, the percentage of Americans identifying as LGBT has remained similar over time among older generations, including Generation X, baby boomers, and traditionalists (those born prior to 1946). As well, among the millennials and Gen Zers who say they are nonheterosexual, it remains unclear what proportion has actually had a same-sex relationship.
Of LGBT-identifying Americans, a bisexual identification was most common, particularly among women. Because female sexuality has evolved to be more flexible than male sexuality, some women have likely interpreted this flexibility to mean they are interested in women.
Also, women who simply appreciate female beauty are incentivized to call themselves bisexual as a way to signal their progressive “allyship.” Similar to individuals identifying as “queer,” research shows bisexual people are more likely to be in heterosexual relationships. This is not to say bisexual people don’t exist, but I would argue these sharply increasing numbers are the result of the social capital gained nowadays from identifying as something other than a heterosexual woman or man. This trendiness trivializes the difficulties and discrimination that gay, bisexual, and transgender people face.
This is in tandem with educators’ growing obsession with teaching sexual and gender identity curriculum to students at as young of an age as possible, including those in kindergarten. It’s important to note these teachers usually aren’t gender or sexual minorities themselves but are conveniently using these children as a vehicle for their politics, to redefine society and concepts such as gender and sexual orientation.
Dr. Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist, the host of The Dr. Debra Soh Podcast, and the author of The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths About Sex and Identity in Our Society.
