How Many Gay People are There ? {U.S and Britain}

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                    The picture above is by the late artist Michael Breyette’s The name is Rain(1995)
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As you look at these figures it is important for you to keep in mind that these are  more or less guesses. Why? Because these surveys depends on people’s honesty about themselves and their level of comfort with the way they are which is really a form of coming out to the survey taker or survey method. 

I will suggest that what ever figures you see here you multiply by the percentage you believe were not being honest about having sex with a man or more important, calling themselves ‘Homosexual’. Also you most keep in mind that the figures are just for two countries. So we are not talking about how many gay people there  are in the world, which you can see by just looking at the figures below, is an astronomical amount. Just imagine if al those people that took the service would just come out? If that was true our fight for civil rights in Britain and the U.S would be over. 

Adam @adamfoxie* 

It is very difficult to calculate even the approximate number of gay people. Even when estimating roughly how many people are gay in any place, the following points have to be kept in mind:¹

• How many people we estimate are homosexual depends on how we define homosexuality.
• Many more people experience sexual feelings for someone of the same sex than report recent sexual experience with someone of the same sex.
• Because homosexuality is stigmatised it is more likely to be under than over reported.

These figures and information was obtained from 

How many gay people are there in Britain?

Statistics regarding numbers of gay and lesbian people in Britain come from surveys done in 1990 and again in 2000. Between 1989-1990, a National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (NATSAL) of nearly 19,000 people was undertaken in Britain. The survey examined a cross section of people throughout the country, and looked at their sexual attitudes and behaviour, including people's same sex sexual experiences. The NATSAL survey was repeated between 1999-2001; this time the subject group involved less people, at just over 11,000. The results of the study provide us with an interesting comparison of how same sex sexual behaviour is changing in Britain.

Among men they found the following results:

	NATSAL I (%) 1990	NATSAL II (%) 2000
Ever had a sexual experience, not necessarily including genital contact, with a partner of the same sex?	5.3	8.4
Ever had sex with a same sex partner, including genital contact?	3.7	6.3
Have you had a same sex partner in the last five years?	1.4	2.6

And among women they found these results:

	NATSAL I (%) 1990	NATSAL II (%) 2000
Ever had a sexual experience, not necessarily including genital contact, with a partner of the same sex?	2.8	9.7
Ever had sex with a same sex partner, including genital contact?	1.9	5.7
Have you had a same sex partner in the last five years?	0.6	2.6

The differences in the two NATSAL surveys clearly indicate the changes that have been occurring in people's same sex sexual attitudes and behaviours. The greatest change is highlighted in the increase in women who have indicated that they have had a same sex sexual experience, not necessarily including genital contact, as this increased from 2.8% in 1990 to 9.7% in 2000. More men said that they had had a same sex sexual experience too, up from 5.3% in 1990 to 8.4% in 2000, thus showing that either same sex sexual behaviour is on the increase or people are more willing to report it.

When looking at same sex sexual attraction, and not necessarily sexual experience, the figures have also changed over the ten-year period, with women showing the most significant difference. In 1990, 93.3% of men said they had only ever had sexual attraction towards the opposite sex, whilst by 2000 this had fallen to 91.9%. 93.6% of women in 1990 said they had only ever been attracted to men, but by 2000 this had dropped to 88.3%. From this we can therefore deduce that 11.7% of women and 8.1% of men have felt a sexual attraction towards the same sex at least once in their lives.^2 3

How many young gay people are there in Britain?

Among men they found the following results:

	NATSAL I (%) 1990	NATSAL II (%) 2000 16-17 yrs	18-19 yrs	20-24 yrs	NATSAL II Average, 16-24 years
Ever had a sexual experience with a same sex partner?	4.3	1.2	5.6	6.3	4.3
Ever had sexual intercourse/genital contact with a same sex partner?	2.4	1.2	2.3	4.2	2.6

And among women they found these results:

	NATSAL I (%) 1990	NATSAL II (%) 2000 16-17 yrs	18-19 yrs	20-24 yrs	NATSAL II Average, 16-24 years
Ever had a sexual experience with a same sex partner?	3.0	5.1	9.7	12.6	9.1
Ever had sexual intercourse/genital contact with a same sex partner?	1.4	2.5	4.6	6.5	4.5

By adding the three figures for each category in NATSAL II, and getting an average percentage, we can at least gain some comparison between the two sets of data. The differences are again most apparent in women, especially in the sexual experience category, with the figure rising from only 3.0% in 1990 to 9.1% in 2000. The differences in men are less obvious, with the average for sexual experience for 2000 being the same as 1990, at 4.3%. What you can deduce from the male data is that same sex sexual experience does increase more rapidly over the age of 18 years; the data for 18-19 years and 20-24 years, at 5.6% and 6.3% respectively, is higher than the whole 16-24 year average of 4.3%.

How many gay people are there in America?

As well as the problems outlined above in estimating the number of gay people, the geographical size and dense population presents an additional problem for anybody trying to calculate the number of gay people in America.

However, Alfred Kinsey carried out research in the 1940s and 1950s into the sexual behaviour of 12,000 men and women in America.⁴ Although his work has been heavily criticised it remains a rare and relatively authoritative study of sexual behaviour in America.

Amongst the men he found:

• 37% reported some homosexual contact;
• 13% reported more homosexual than heterosexual contact;
• 4% reported exclusively homosexual contact.

Amongst the women he found:

• 13% reported some homosexual contact;
• 4% reported more homosexual than heterosexual contact;
• 1% reported exclusively homosexual contact.

From these results Kinsey realised that not only were few people exclusively homosexual, but also far from the vast majority, particularly of men, were exclusively heterosexual. This led him to develop an orientation scale, which had exclusively heterosexual and exclusively homosexual at opposite ends with a wide middle range to cater for the majority of people who were neither.

More recently, data has been collected in America, during the ten-year national census, on married and unmarried-partner households. They did not ask the actual sexual orientation of the respondents, so there is no measure of single gay people, nor is there a measure of those gay people in committed relationships but not living together. Whilst the census cannot give us a figure for the number of people who are gay in America, it can inform us on how many same-sex partnership households identified themselves in the survey. The 2000 census tells us that

• there are 105.5 million households in the USA;
• 5.5 million of these consist of unmarried partnerships;
• of these, 595,000 consist of same sex partners.⁵

This can be interpreted as there being nearly 1.2 million gay people living with a same sex partner in America. This is a huge increase from the 1990 census, which identified only 145,000 same sex unmarried households. As with the NATSAL survey in the UK, there is undoubtedly a large amount of under reporting in these sorts of surveys. Possible explanations of this include continued prejudice and discrimination against gay people.⁶

There have been various other surveys in the US that have tried to measure numbers of gay people. An analysis of these surveys by the Human Rights Campaign came up with this conclusion:

"In the last three elections, the Voter News Service exit poll registered the gay vote between 4 percent and 5 percent. While concluding that the Census 2000 undercounted the total number of gay or lesbian households, for the purposes of this study, we estimate the gay and lesbian population at 5 percent of the total U.S. population over 18 years of age, (209,128,094). This results in an estimated total gay and lesbian population of 10,456,405. A recent study of gay and lesbian voting habits conducted by Harris Interactive determined that 30 percent of gay and lesbian people are living in a committed relationship in the same residence. Using that figure, we suggest that 3,136,921 gay or lesbian people are living in the United States in committed relationships in the same residence."⁷

So, if we accept that the data presented by the Human Rights Commission is indeed indicative of the real numbers, then it shows that the census data is only showing up a small percentage of the actual number of gay people living in America. Until, however, a nationwide survey is done, asking questions on sexual attitudes and behaviour, then we can only use data and analyses, such as the ones above, to work out an answer to the question of gay people living in America.

How many gay people are there around the world?

Very little research has been carried out into the frequency of same-sex behaviour in non-Western countries. However, the studies carried out in the US and the UK reveal a diversity of sexual identities, which it is reasonable to presume are equally prevalent throughout the world. Widespread stigmatisation and criminalisation of same-sex behaviour in many countries prevent gay men and lesbians from openly expressing their sexuality. This has led to an invisibility of gay identities. This does not mean that gay people do not exist in these places, but in fact highlights the importance of increasing recognition of gay communities - something that is important in its own right, but also crucial for HIV prevention.

In Africa, for example, political and cultural leaders have consistently denied the existence of homosexuality in their communities. In 2004, the President of Nigeria declared that homosexuality “is clearly un-Biblical, un-natural, and definitely un-African”.⁸ However, gay and lesbian Africans have become increasingly vocal as global movements have opened up public discussions about sexuality and gender. Consequently, a significant minority of self-identified gay men and lesbians has emerged throughout the continent.⁹

The Kenyan government announced plans in 2009 to carry out a nationwide survey to gain a better understanding of the numbers of gay people living in the country.¹⁰Such a survey would be the first of its kind to be carried out in Africa, and provide important information for HIV prevention. However, Kenya's plans also highlight the barriers to establishing such estimates. The prospects of gathering accurate information are limited in an environment where homosexuality is stigmatised and criminalised; sex between men is punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment in Kenya.¹¹

State-led homophobia continues to be a serious issue in many African countries, and around the world.¹² Reliable data on numbers of gay people cannot be gathered until such policies are reformed, and social attitudes begin to change.

The increasing visibility of gay people

Throughout history there have always been people who have had homosexual feelings and experiences. In some cultures, at some times, these feelings have been celebrated rather than stigmatised. However, major changes towards the end of the twentieth century have increased the visibility of gay and lesbian people, their lifestyles and the issues they face.

“Challenging the invisibility of gay people in the public sphere has made it possible for many more people to express their sexuality openly”

This has been particularly noticeable in popular media. India attracted international attention in 2009 with reports of the first gay love scene in a Bollywood film.¹³ Even before homosexuality was decriminalised in India, a small number of Bollywood films were recognised for their realistic and sensitive representation of gay characters.¹⁴ The most significant changes have been seen in Europe and the US. There are gay and lesbian characters and story-lines in soap operas – for example, ER (US), Queer as folk, The OC (US), Hollyoaks (UK) – as well as situation comedies like Will and Grace (US), Sex in the City (US) or Absolutely Fabulous (UK). There have also been very powerful gay, lesbian and bisexual images and image-makers in popular music and culture, such as Elton John, K.D. Lang, Pet Shop Boys, Will Young, REM and George Michael. Programmes where contestants rely on public telephone votes to remain or to win have been won by out gay and lesbian people, for example Big Brother (UK), Fame Academy and Popstars (UK).

At the same time there have been a series of important struggles for gay and lesbian equality, and to counterhomophobia. In Britain this has been marked by demands for the right to be parents (adoptive and natural), the right to fair treatment at work, and so on. These have, as has often been intended, attracted considerable media, political and legal attention. Gay rights movements have gathered strength around the world and are increasingly interlinking with mainstream human rights organisations. In Mozambique the Human Rights League sponsored the country's first seminar on gay rights and is helping lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups to obtain official recognition.¹⁵ In 2009, the prosecution of nine gay activists in Senegal was met with such national and international opposition that the sentences were later repealed and the men released.¹⁶

These changes may have given the impression that homosexuality is now more prevalent than at any other time. This is not the case. However, challenging the invisibility of gay people in the public sphere has made it possible for many more people to express their sexuality openly.¹⁷

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