when I was in highschool in the early 90’s, it was always said that one in ten people were gay. Is there an basis for this ratio? I’m thinking that if 30 people respond to this, 3 must be gay. Whaddaya think?
Estimates on this vary widely, depending on which study you read. I’ve heard anywhere from one in four to one in twenty. Reasonably, and based in part on personal observation, I’d say somewhere between one in 8 and one in 15 or so is about right.
I would venture to say that the percentage of dopers who are gay is more than the percentage of the general population who are gay. Or perhaps not.
“or perhaps not”. That’s awesome, man. I’ve only been on this board for about 36 hours, but the addiction is killing me. This board rocks.
My wife wants me to join a bridge club. I jump off next tuesday.
Part of the problem is how to define “gay.” Another part is getting accurate self-reporting.
I think it’s safe to say that far more than 10% have had some kind of sexual experience with a member of their own sex and probably a majority have at least felt some sort of attraction.
So does “gay” mean only full on, practicing exclusive homosexuals? Does it include bisexuals? Does it include ostensible heterosexuals who have had at least one erotic, same-sex experience? Does it include ostensible heterosexuals who fantasize about homosexual sex but haven’t experienced it? Does it include people in prison who would be exclusively heterosexual on the outside but not on the inside?
Maybe only one in ten or one in twenty are out but human sexuality is pretty complicated. There really isn’t a bright red line between gay and straight.
I’m gay. You’re 1 for 3 so far. 
I’m guessing… :o
now, that’s what I’m lookin’ for! Just say straight or gay and we’ll sort this out. LOL
Always happy to do my bit either to support or screw the ratio…
I’d say about 1 in 30, many dopers will slam this, but I think its about right in the end. Out of a group of 30000 people (ie a home game at some basketball stadiums), probably about 1000 are gay, which sounds about right to me.
Also keep in mind more men are openly gay than women. Why? Because men cant hide it. They cant get it up with the opposite sex, thus must accept there gayness or have no sex life. Women, however, can fake it and deny it to themselves, end up marrying, have kids, and no one would ever know except them.
If anyone thinks that gayness is as common as one out of ten, id LOVE to see their cite… :dubious:
You don’t know? Man, I go by the rule of thumb that someone may be closeted straight, but they don’t tend to come out as gay unless they’re damned sure.
Excepting, of course, young teenage girls at a Tori concert (??? these days, I guess) who say they’re gay 'cause it’s a semi-hip means of rebellion, but who would freak out if it were suggested they kiss each other.
[
Also keep in mind more men are openly gay than women. Why? Because men cant hide it. They cant get it up with the opposite sex, thus must accept there gayness or have no sex life. Women, however, can fake it and deny it to themselves, end up marrying, have kids, and no one would ever know except them.
hmm. There’s a whole lot of women who would disagree with that. Especially the denial quote. You sound like it may be wrong to you, which is a debate I don’t want to start. I know it was too touchy a question to ask. Maybe, if there was a way to tell, I should have asked if the guys here had ever had a homosexual fantasy, and if so, had they ever lived it out.
straight as an arrow, but curioso
I’d say that a home game at a basketball stadium is a pretty skewed population, Lucky Sevens, as neither I nor any other gay person I personally know has been to a basketball game AFAIK (home game or otherwise). But still, I’d be fascinated to know how you came up with the 1000 out of 30000 estimate…
Also, there are plenty of gay men who have been married and have kids. Being a gay man doesn’t necessarily mean that you are constitutionally incapable of having sex with a woman. And as far as women “[faking] it and [denying] it to themselves”, lots of us were thrilled with being exactly who we are from the get-go.
Are you saying that you have no idea whatsoever whether a woman is into having sex with you or not? :eek:
Assuming it doesn’t include the words “sounds about right” and “probably”, I’d love to see yours.
With all the things men put their penises in, one would think you’d know better.
Make that 3 out of 8. Either people here are more open, or it’s skewed due to the fact that the topic is somewhat biased (“people are gay?”). Or maybe the ratio is just that much higher than you think 
Historically, the basis for the 1 in 10 figure is that 10% of males were predominantly homosexual between the ages of 16 and 55 in Alfred Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male from 1948. Like many aspects of Kinsey’s work, this number has been criticised over the years, usually in order to revise it downwards.
However, for comparison, the results from the UK’s recent major surveys of sexual behaviour still give percentages that are about half those Kinsey found or greater.
I’m bi. (Just to make it awkward 
)
Exit polls from the US 2000 election showed that 4% of voters are gay or lesbian. Or rather, that 4% were willing to self-identify as such on an exit poll.
According to this site, the question was dropped from exit polls in 2002 but prior to that time the 4% nationwide figure was fairly consistent over the years, and the percentage for some metro areas was as high as 8%.
But, as others have said, reluctance to “out” oneself to pollsters and the questions of what constitutes homosexuality and where self-identified bisexuals should be grouped makes this a difficult one to get a solid answer to. Sadly, since the suicide and runaway rate among gay teens is higher than that of their straight peers, there are also many homosexuals who never get the chance to be polled at all.
So, we’ll count you twice. 
straight, but once in a while I meet someone who might make me reconsider.