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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOpinion: More and more Americans say they're not straight. It gives me hope.
Capehart had a good segment on this polling and the change in acceptance of LGBTQ. As a father of a LGBTQ child, this makes me smile
Link to tweet
So, imagine my pride in seeing Gallups new data showing more and more Americans publicly embracing their sexual orientation and gender identity. Ten years ago, 3.5 percent of U.S. adults self-identified as LGBTQ. Today, its a record 7.1 percent. And, yes, its largely Gen Z that has driven the increase in the figure as well as in my hope for the future of this country.
Gallup reports that roughly 21% of Generation Z Americans who have reached adulthood those born between 1997 and 2003 identify as LGBT. That means the oldest among them is only 25. As an out gay Gen Xer who has watched successive generations come out earlier and earlier, I am in awe of the ease with which members of Gen Z seem to confidently glide through this world. Thats not to say they dont still face challenges. They do, and the challenges only compound my awe......
The fight for equality is nowhere near over. But a world in which 21 percent of Gen Z is comfortable identifying as something other than heterosexual shows that its not just beginning, either. LGBTQ Americans are less fearful to live out loud. And I couldnt be prouder.
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(143,998 posts)Withywindle
(9,988 posts)I knew lots of LGBTQ people because the college was very welcoming, but I only knew one guy who had actually come out while still in high school. It was an arts high school in a liberal metro area but we were still in absolute AWE of him. It took so much courage back then just to say "I am gay" in public when you were still a kid and vulnerable, especially during the AIDS crisis.
It gives me hope too. I don't think there's an increase in the number of LGBTQ people who exist, I think those numbers are about the same as always. We're seeing accurate numbers for the first time, because there's so much less oppression (we still have a long way to go but there has absolutely been big progress).