What's the percentage of people that are gay?

[MrFun]

I tend to believe the 10%.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Wittlich
Well, I think the 10% ratio is rather low - I feel that it's more like between 15-20% of the population who are gay (and by "gay" I'm also including bisexuals into the percentage).

Does you definition include people who have ever thought about having homosexual sex seriously, or people who have had homosexual sex but don't think about it all that much these days, or people who think about and participate in homosexual sex fairly often? If it includes all categories I could believe your numbers, otherwise they seem high. Of course you live in SF, so it could simply be local tendencies influencing our estimations. I voted for 5% gay, which includes only those who are currently exclusively homosexual. It might be a bit high, but I live in a liberal college town and it seems to fit here.

[molly bloom]

I’d love to know where you’re all getting your figures from, and what the criteria are for those figures.

Doing a quick survey of my friends, I’ve discovered that the percentage of heterosexual people in the world is remarkably low. Clearly, I’m going to have to donate sperm to some lesbian friends in order to keep population numbers up....

Trying to divorce homosexuality and being open about homosexuality from societal and cultural contexts is absurd. How many serving members of the armed forces would be open about their homosexuality, how many men and women do not identify as ‘gay’ or ‘lesbian’ but still have sex with other men or women, or are bisexual, or deeply religious and conflicted, and so on and so on.

Even in relatively liberal societies of the developed world, identifying as gay or lesbian is about as popular as Shi’ite Islam in Utah. For someone to be open about their sexuality in more isolated rural areas would take a lot of courage, or a very supportive and understanding family and network of friends- it’s really not a huge surprise that a great many lesbians and gay men gravitate towards larger urban centres.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Agathon
On Apolyton, about 75%.

That low?

[chequita guevara]

The Kinsey Report, on which the 10% number is based had some methodological flaws, part of which is that it was a self-reporting survey.

Another part is what do you consider a homosexual? Are bisexuals lumped in or not? What about situational homosexals, like men in prison or sea duty etc.? What about guys who experiemented? What about people who participate in orgies or a menage a trois? What about people who are exually attracted to their own gender but never act upon it? What about trendy gays (it does happen, but not as much as troglydites like Stewie would have us believe).

[Dr Strangelove]

I don't think that convicts, boy scouts, or anyone who engages in gay sex because they lack the opportunity to pusue the alternative count. My guess is that only about 2 to 4% of the population are truly homosexual or significantly bisexual.

[Jaguar]

I think 7-8% sounds reasonable.

[Al B. Sure!]

nah i made a mistake... i know one white girl who is bisexual... she's the only person around my age (two years younger) who i know of being gay at all.

[Ted Striker]

I'd say between 5-10% and that's pushing it.

Apolyton = 15%

Greece = 95%

[Winston]

By Sikander's definition, people who are currently and exclusively gay, my guess would be not much over 2%.

[Alexander's Horse]

3% in the general population

about 95% on this forum

[FrustratedPoet]

Originally posted by molly bloom
I’d love to know where you’re all getting your figures from, and what the criteria are for those figures.

We're plucking them out of thin air based loosely on our personal experiences. Just as you are.

[mindseye]

Although many fellow homos think the percentage is much higher, I'd say about 2% for self-identified gays.

Criteria: observation based on personal experience, extrapolation.

[Gangerolf]

judging from all the attention they get I'd say 30% but the real number is probably closer to 3%

[SpencerH]

The Kinsey sample was not random (for example 25% of the respondents were prisoners or ex-prisoners) and therefore the 10% results are meaningless.

I answered 3% but I think the number may actually be lower than that.