# people are gay?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 16, 2004, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394 "2004-05-16T06:37:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@peculiar\_hailstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peculiar_hailstone)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/1 "2004-05-16T06:37:09Z")
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?
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/2 "2004-05-16T06:46:57Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/3 "2004-05-16T06:51:32Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@peculiar\_hailstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peculiar_hailstone)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/4 "2004-05-16T06:59:49Z")
“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.
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/5 "2004-05-16T07:11:03Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/6 "2004-05-16T07:11:35Z")
I’m gay. You’re 1 for 3 so far. 🆒
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### Author:  [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/7 "2004-05-16T07:12:40Z")
I’m _guessing_… :o
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### Author:  [@peculiar\_hailstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peculiar_hailstone)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/8 "2004-05-16T07:17:39Z")
now, that’s what I’m lookin’ for! Just say straight or gay and we’ll sort this out. LOL
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### Author:  [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/9 "2004-05-16T07:20:40Z")
Always happy to do my bit either to support or screw the ratio…
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### Author:  [@LuckySevens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LuckySevens)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/10 "2004-05-16T07:59:34Z")
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:
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### Author:  [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/11 "2004-05-16T08:04:23Z")
> [@jellyblue](#):
>
> I’m _guessing_… :o
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.
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### Author:  [@peculiar\_hailstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peculiar_hailstone)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/12 "2004-05-16T08:21:53Z")
[
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
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### Author:  [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/13 "2004-05-16T08:26:34Z")
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:
> [@LuckySevens](#):
>
> 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:
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### Author:  [@Necro\_Romancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necro_Romancer)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/14 "2004-05-16T08:29:47Z")
> [@LuckySeven](#):
>
> If anyone thinks that gayness is as common as one out of ten, id LOVE to see their cite…:dubious:
Assuming it doesn’t include the words “sounds about right” and “probably”, I’d love to see yours.
> [@](#):
>
> 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.
With all the things men put their penises in, one would think you’d know better.
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### Author:  [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/15 "2004-05-16T10:37:14Z")
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 😛
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### Author:  [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/16 "2004-05-16T12:06:15Z")
> [@peculiar hailstone](#):
>
> 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?
Historically, the basis for the 1 in 10 figure is that [10% of males were predominantly homosexual between the ages of 16 and 55](http://www.indiana.edu/~kinsey/research/ak-data.html#homosexuality) 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](http://www.avert.org/hsexu1.htm) still give percentages that are about half those Kinsey found or greater.
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### Author:  [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/17 "2004-05-16T12:45:38Z")
> [@peculiar hailstone](#):
>
> now, that’s what I’m lookin’ for! Just say straight or gay and we’ll sort this out. LOL
I’m bi. (Just to make it awkward 🙂 )
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### Author:  [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/18 "2004-05-16T12:51:00Z")
Exit polls from the US [2000 election](http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/epolls/US/P000.html) 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](http://www.datalounge.com/datalounge/news/record.html?record=20338), 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.
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/19 "2004-05-16T15:06:33Z")
> [@AngelicGemma](#):
>
> I’m bi. (Just to make it awkward 🙂 )
So, we’ll count you twice. 😃
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### Author:  [@MrFantsyPants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFantsyPants)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2004, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-gay/245394/20 "2004-05-16T15:25:35Z")
straight, but once in a while I meet someone who might make me reconsider.
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