Coming out: More Americans identify as LGBT

313

Published by BBN Staff at March 2, 2021

Tags

Posted: Tuesday, March 2, 2021. 3:10 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes, Belize City: Nearly 18 million Americans – about 5.6 percent of the population – now identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ), the most to date, according to a Gallup poll quoted by CNN.

But LGBTQ advocacy groups aren’t surprised by the 1 percent rise since the last such poll in 2017. The question, they say, isn’t who is LGBTQ – it is whether they are comfortable publicly identifying themselves that way. Young people, known as “Generation Z,” are said to be leading the charge.

Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, cites pro-equality legislation as a driver of the increase in people more publicly identifying as LGBTQ, pointing out that up to very recently, such identity and conduct were illegal in several states.

Young adults aged 18 to 23 in the poll accounted for 15.9% of LGBTQ American adults. They weren’t around during the years when being LGBTQ was criminal. And they’re able to view issues of identity in a different, less fearful way, according to David.

The poll also reveals that a majority of LGBTQ-identifying Americans polled, 54.6 percent, identify as bisexual – it is more recognized as a specific orientation than as some ascribe it, ‘not picking a side.’ 24.5 percent identify as gay, 11.7% lesbian, and 11.3% transgender.

Under any label, this community continues to suffer from a lack of basic protection in half of U.S. states, and in 2021 alone, lawmakers in at least 14 states proposed anti-LGBTQ bills.

At the Federal level, there is an effort to pass the Equality Act, which would protect the community from discrimination and public life. It was reintroduced in the current session of Congress after falling in the last.

Looking forward, David said he expects that more LGBTQ people will continue to identify publicly in ways they were previously unwilling to.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-612-0315.