I know studies and polls have been done, with varying results, but I’m curious as to what y’all believe, based on your personal experiences, a sort of informal survey. That’s why this is in IMHO.
I know a lot of gay and bisexual people, probably at least a third of the people I regularly come into contact with are one or the other. I don’t think this is a representative sample, though - one of my best friends is a ‘fag hag’ and I’ve met a lot of people through her, and the company I work for has a seemingly unusual number of gay employees, probably because it’s main office was located near the big ‘gay neighborhood’ of Dallas and a lot of the management is gay - not saying gays necessarily give other gays preferential treatment, but the company gives good referral bonuses and it’s easier to get a job here if you know someone else who already works here. I do think that the percentage is probably quite a bit above the 10% figure I’ve heard tossed around a lot. 25% wouldn’t surprise me, though (counting bisexuals).
Badzt, I’d suggest that perhaps you’re a person to whom people feel comfortable about disclosing their sexual preferences, and perhaps that’s why your personal sample is a little “skewed”.
Try going the other way. I believe the 10% number came from the original Kinsey studies, which turned out to be flawed. Across the population, I think the more accepted number now is about 2-3%.
Your experiences are worthless, because you’re looking at a very small sample set. I can give you an alternate example - where I grew up, there wasn’t a single openly gay person out of over 1000 people. Of course, this was a religious community, so it’s not surprising that we wouldn’t hear about gays. But even among my friends, I only know a couple that are gay, out of dozens of people. Again, this means nothing.
Personally, I think that everyone is bisexual. Everyone. No matter who they REALLY prefer to sleep with. You’re all bisexual. It’s just that a lot of people are in denial.
“10 percent is not enough! Convert! Convert! Convert!”
I’d say everyones inherantly bi-sexual to some degree… but I think the number of sexual experimentation has increased a GREAT deal since its become the “in” thing to be bi/gay. (I realize this isnt everywhere… but in most big cities, you find alot of gay/bi subculture.
I’d say the number is probably between 7 and 15 percent.
I don’t buy that AT ALL. While I’m an openminded person who isn’t afraid to experiment, the thought of having sex with a man completely disgusts me.[sup]1[/sup] I’m convinced that I am 100% straight - not a grain of bisexuality in me.
As for the OP: based on the world around me, I’d say about 10 to 15% of all people are (openly) gay. It’s very well possible that some of them are bisexual, because I don’t discuss these matters with ALL of them, just some. And also: it’s entirely possible that some of my seemingly straight friends are actually bi as well. In other words: hard to tell.
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[sup]1[/sup] = I by no means mean to imply homosexuality in general disgusts me. It doesn’t. But I’m sure a 100% gay man would consider sex with a woman gross as well, right? Same thing.
Four percent sounds likely to me. It’ll be skewed some by all the closet cases out there, but that taboo is falling. Probably within a generation or so when the stigma is (mostly) gone, we’ll have more accurate numbers, but I bet they’ll still be well below ten percent.
I’m speaking about the United States, of course. I’d be keen to know the latest accurate numbers for countries where there’s currently much more disapproval of homosexuality (China?), and for countries where there’s much more approval (Netherlands?).
I think the idea of something naturally disgusting is not possible. It is more akin to phobia of something. You go through some experience while you are young that makes you this way. Naturally a straight guy is going to be more likely to consider sex with another man disgusting, however it does not create that disgust.
I’m sure it varies with region. San Fancisco will have a higher percentage than lets say my home town in farmer land south east Indiana. But there is a growing number here. My work place for instance has a number of about 25%. Which is unbelievable considering the level of tollerance locals have for these things. The person who was doing the hireing is gay. I know he showed preference, but hey as long as they did their job I didn’t mind.
I wasn’t raped by a big guy named Bubba, if that’s what you mean.
While this isn’t great debates: a phobia? I’m not afraid to have sex with a man. I just wouldn’t do it because it doesn’t appeal to me.
Naturally disgusting is not possible? Why not? The majority of us are heterosexual, right? Which means most of us are not interested in having intercourse with the same sex. I’m not saying homosexuality is unnatural: quite frankly, I don’t know and I don’t care whether it is or not. But 100% heterosexuality comes across as pretty natural to me, in the strict biological sense.
I’m a little confused. Since you use “something” instead of “homosexuality being” are you actually saying that there’s nothing that people are naturally disgusted by? I find it hard to believe you would really think that, even though your phrasing makes it seem so…or are you one of the rare people who does not mind accidentally walking through dog crap or a puddle of cat vomit? Most people are naturally disgusted by both.
I said akin to a phobia and thats what I meant, rather that you learn it(not be afraid of it). And by learn I mean when you learn about it for the first time you hear about it you create assumptions about it based on experience with other things.
I just doubt that you would have any more disgust for having sex with a man as a evolutionary trait. Theres no reason for it, having sex with a man would be akin to having sex with an inanimate object IMHO:).
Hey, an opportunity to throw out my own little theory about sexuality…
I sort of agree with Spoofe, but with some difference of opinion.
My pet theory (based on absolutely nothing other than my inner meanderings) is that sexuality flows along a continuum. Some people, at one end of the spectrum, are attracted only to their own sex, while others, at the other end, are attracted only to their opposite. The rest of us are spread out fairly evenly between those two points.
I believe that much of what we feel about our sexuality is the effect of socialization. For most of us, who feel a stronger attraction one way or the other, it is easy to accept the social structures and fit into one group or the other.
Personally, I identify as a heterosexual woman. I have never been intimate with a woman. The idea doesn’t disgust me; it doesn’t particularly appeal to me, either. I feel “naturally” drawn to men. However, I also have a very strong maternal instinct (and am the very happy mother of four children) so, in this society, it benefits me to prefer a monogamous relationship with a man who will provide for the children that I felt compelled to bear. If I had grown up in a different society, might I feel differently?
I doubt that people are spread out at all evenly along some sort of continuum. If you could graph it accurately, you’d probably find a huge percentage between 90%-100% heterosexual, and a few at the other end, with the smallest bulge around the halfway point, and the areas in between pretty sparse. Certainly the heterosexual end of the scale would be more full than the homosexual end.
I’m going to guess that homosexuals account for 5%-7% of the population.
I really don’t agree with any of the everyone is bisexual arguments. I mean not only do I not want to have sex with another guy, I am pretty sure I could not physically do it. I do not think that I could get my penis erect with another guy in bed.
