In its Oct. 8 “Tuesday Briefing,” the Gallup Organization released the results of its August 2002 poll revealing that Americans estimate that approximately 20% of the general population is gay or lesbian. Over the 25 years that the Gallup Organization has monitored public opinion of gays and lesbians, they have found a continual rise in public acceptance of the LGBT community.
Gallup asked Americans for their own estimate of the percentage of American men and women who are gay or lesbian. The average responses were that 21% of men are gay and 22% of women are lesbians. In fact, roughly a quarter of the public thinks more than 25% of men and 25% of women are gay. Gallup also noted that male respondents tended to give lower estimates of both the gay and lesbian populations than female respondents did, and that both sexes believe there are more gays of the opposite sex than of their own sex. At least one in six respondents did not offer an estimate.
“The growing visibility of gays and lesbians in our country naturally leads to questions about the size of our community.” said Cathy Renna, GLAAD’s news media director. “When you look at the recent Kaiser Family Foundation report and the attempts to count gay couples in the 2000 Census, we’re seeing a growing desire to arrive at a more representative number.”
In November 2001, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a similar poll with similar results. Their survey of fifteen metropolitan areas found that 18% of those polled identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual.
Meanwhile, a survey done for Witeck-Combs Communications, a gay marketing company, says that 2 million gay and lesbian couples have children, and that by 2004, there will be 3.4 million children in gay homes.
www.gallup.com/poll/analysis/ia020911vii.asp