Are gay people a minority

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As this research continues, we will learn more about the most effective strategies for therapy with this population.

Facilitating discussions related to sexual orientation and gender identity:

  • SGM clients differ in their preference for a sexual or gender minority therapist, even though most SGM individuals believe that therapists do not have to be similar in this respect to be effective.

    In 2024, nearly one in ten (9.3 percent) Americans identify as LGBTQ.

    The steady rise in LGBTQ identity among the public is worth noting, but it’s not the most important part of the story. For example, this could include learning new ways of communicating with people, thinking about your relationships, managing your feelings, or handling conflict situations.

Choosing a therapist

  • Some people want to have a therapist who is also a sexual or gender minority.

    In 2024, 67 percent of US adults said that homosexuality should be accepted by society, up from 50 percent in 2007.

    This argument is based on the idea that natural sexual preferences and identities were culturally repressed. Everyone is at a different stage of coming out, and coming out may differ across contexts and people (e.g., someone may be out to their friends, but not at work or with their family).

    Cognitive-behavioral therapy with lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons. There is now a nearly 20-point gap in the sexual identity of young women and men.

    As someone who studies cultural and social trends for a living, this is simply remarkable. Oakland: Context Press.

Racial Differences Among LGBT Adults in the US

Visit the data interactive

Overview

This final report in the series, LGBT Well-Being at the Intersection of Race, uses data from the 2012-2017 Gallup Survey and the Generations/Transpop studies to assess whether LGBT people of color (POC) differ from White LGBT people on several areas of health and socioeconomic well-being.

One recent study found that repeated exposure to information describing “sexual orientation existing on a continuum” led respondents to adopt more fluid sexual identities or to express greater uncertainty about their sexual orientation.

Is it About Wokeness?

Another intriguing possibility is that LGBTQ identity, especially for young women, has become a point of pride or a mark of social status.

Specifically, fewer POC LGBT adults report depression diagnoses compared to White LGBT people. When looking across the specific health conditions (e.g., asthma, heart disease, diabetes, cancer), health behaviors (smoking, drinking), and stigmatized health factors (weight, disability) from the prior reports in the series, there is no consistent set of health factor differences across race among LGBT adults that may easily explain the higher percentage of fair and poor health reported by POC people.

Mental health is one domain of health outcomes in which racial minorities do not consistently fare worse than White respondents.

There is a critical need for additional research on interventions for sexual minority women and bisexual individuals.

  • There has been even less research on evidence-based approaches to clinical work with gender minority clients. The number of Americans who identify as bisexual has exploded, especially among young women.

    Gallup’s newest report recorded the single largest one-year increase in LGBTQ identity. Mindfulness and acceptance for gender and sexual minorities: A clinician’s guide to fostering compassion, connection, and equality using contextual strategies. For example, 47% of POC LGBT adults were living in a low-income household compared to 36% of White LGBT adults.

    We also found differences in outcomes among LGBT POC on some economic and health indicators. The more elite the space, the more pronounced these tendencies become.”

    According to this theory, a young women might be more inclined to identify as bisexual because it offers some offers advantages in her peer group. Throughout the past five years—particularly in 2024—LGBTQ pop culture, especially lesbian culture, has hit peak popularity.

    Research backs up these anecdotal accounts.

    A past study by the Pew Research Center found that nearly nine in ten partnered-bisexual people are currently dating someone of the opposite sex.

    Is it Social Media?

    Another possible explanation for why women have experienced the most dramatic growth in LGBTQ identity is social media.

    A sensitive therapist will be willing to talk about your preference and decide if they are a good fit for you.

  • Interviewing possible therapists can be a helpful way to decide if they are right for you. The best way to find out is to ask!
  • A good therapist should be willing to talk about any worries you have about your therapy at any point.

    As we age, our social context also changes, which alters the type of people and places that influence our behavior and beliefs. As such, the collection of reports in the series highlight evidence that White male heterosexual cisgender status remains a salient nexus of privilege.

    Yet, the findings overall do not implicate a simplistic narrative of the impact of an intersectional marginalized social status on well-being.

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