A record number of adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, according to a new poll from Gallup.
The research firm polled over 1.75 million Americans over five years and revealed that 4.1% of the population now identifies as LGBT+, or around 10 million people.
Respondents were asked if they identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender but not if they identified as queer or non-binary.
“Millennials are more than twice as likely as any other generation to identify as LGBT,” Gallup says. “In 2012, they accounted for 43 % of LGBT-identified adults. As a result of their disproportionate increases in identification since then, they now account for 58 %. Millennials comprise 32 % of the general adult population.”
Results show that:
• 7.3 % of Millennials (those born between 1980-1998) identify as LGBT, compared to 5.8 % in 2012.
• 3.2 % of General X (those born between 1965-1979) call themselves LGBT – the same percentage as those surveyed in 2012.
• 3.7 % of males identify with LGBT, compared to 3.4 % in 2012.
- 4.4 % of women identify with LGBT, compared to 3.5 % in 2012.
The organisation was keen to point out potential shortcomings in collecting data, namely the fact that self-identification “represents only one aspect of measuring sexual orientation and gender identity.”
See the full report on Gallup.com.