10-14 % are LGBT

[paya]

Our faculty  magazine made a big survey where they handed out anonymous questionnaires about sex. Among other numbers, it showed that 10 % of the political science students admitted homosexual orientation and 14 % from the department of international relations stated they were bisexual. Other departments (sociology, psychology, journalism, etc.) will have similar numbers I guess. I thought the numbers were interesting so I wanted to share

 

Of course, we are a school of social science, so there might be higher possibility of LGBT students but personally I think it's more the case that they are more in peace with their sexuality than let's say technical schools where you have to be all macho to show off. (Which pretty much sucks because can you imagine all those sexy guys at technical schools pretending they are straight, waiting for somebody to show them they're not?  )

 

 

[Kev de Cauchery]

Good to know that there's a good environment for gays to be at peace and admit their sexual orientation.

[Menorain]

I wanna know the statistics for the psychology gays! My own school is a healthy mix of social sciences and EXTREME SCIENCE. But it's all good.

[Agaith]

If my Chemistry group was 10-14% gay I would be a happy man!

[Graeme]

It's really difficult to get reliable figures because it's dependent on people responding honestly to the questions (and the questions themselves can introduce bias). The percentage of homosexuals in the population tends to vary from 2-10% in most surveys, but it's questionable on how they count bisexuals. A lot also depends on the questions ask.

 

For example, I'm in a monogamous heterosexual relationship. If you ask about current sexual activity, or sexual activity over the last ten years (say), you'd put me down as straight. If you ask if I've ever had sex with a male, you might put me down as bisexual, as I've had sex with a male when I was a teenager. If you ask what I personally consider myself to be, you'd put me down as gay.

 

I'm inclined to think that the 10% figure is for people who have a preference for their own gender, but not necessarily exclusively. I'd fit into that category. The 2% figure is probably for people who would only consider having a sexual relationship with their own gender (exclusively homosexual).

 

From memory, the UK government used the 10% figure when they calculated the costs of legalising same-sex unions. The more I see, the more I'm inclined to think the 10% figure is about right, especially when you consider that it's much more likely that people will lie against labelling themselves as homosexual compared to people who will lie to label themselves as homosexual. In other words, surveys probably underestimate the homosexual numbers.

[Bleu]

If my Chemistry group was 10-14% gay I would be a happy man!

 

Do you mean you have views on all the gays in your group? Are you discounting the girls? j/k

 

At work, we're over the 10% mark, and that's only the people I know of.

[Daisy139]

I'm in a discipline where everyone is either a heterosexual/bisexual female or a gay male. Fantastic combination. Well, I guess dating at work/in school can go terribly wrong, so I won't complain

 

Anyway, I like those numbers. I'm convinced that there are a lot more LGBTs out there than we think. And I agree- bisexuals are often classified as one or the other (and it's much easier for us to classify ourselves as straight than anything else...). 10-14% sounds a lot more realistic to me.

[Foopy]

unfortunately for me, even if it was 30% of people, it would only be me... only 5 people in my faculty this year... (although looking at the OTHER years could increase the numbers, but at 10% most we would get would be 3...)

[Tipdin]

It is an interesting subject. As I read the note here, I wondered, are people more in tune to their sexual orientation now than in years past?

 

More and more people are realizing that orientation is on a sliding scale, not one side of a coin. One's degree of orientation can also change for various reasons so it's is very difficult at times to pin it down.

 

Very few people peg the meter at one end or the other. Most everyone I know has entertained the idea of a a sexual situation outside of the "normal" range.

 

I seem to be one of the gay people that is so gay I can't even think straight. I not only peg the meter, but I wrap that needle right around the peg!

 

For many years I have worked with psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, family therapists, and so forth so we have people all over the orientation scale. I'm so used to it, that sometimes I forget that most people DON'T consider one's sexual orientation to be a fluid situation. (Hmmmm, may not have been the best phrase to use...but you get the idea!)

[John Doe]

If my Chemistry group was 10-14% gay I would be a happy man!

 

LOL I read this intiallly as my "Christian" group... I laughed at myself after a reread it...

 

I think theres some closeted folks at my school... some of them gets way too friendly with me... makes me feel weird since I'm not entirely out myself and yet I know... and they know about me... hmmm

 

Interesting stuff though. That survey won't last a minute where I live.

[Menorain]

I think theres some closeted folks at my school... some of them gets way too friendly with me... makes me feel weird since I'm not entirely out myself and yet I know... and they know about me... hmmm

 

XD Those people make me feel so awkward. And then I get them alone O.O

 

 

 

[Y_B]

How many people responded?

 

Cuz there could be 1 gay guy outta 1,000,000 but if he was one of only 10 responses, that gives you 10%.