A new poll found that more adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender than ever before.
According to a Gallup poll released Wednesday, 5.6% of adults in the United States identify as LGBT. That’s up from 4.5%, based on the company’s 2017 data. In 2012, when Gallup started tracking the measurement, that number was 3.5%.
For the first time, Gallup also asked respondents to indicate their precise sexual orientation, rather than answering “yes” or “no” to whether they identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
The poll found that more than half of LGBT adults (54.6%) identify as bisexual, about a quarter (24.5%) as gay, 11.7% as lesbian and 11.3% as transgender . Another 3.3% used another non-heterosexual term to describe their sexual orientation, such as queer or homosexual. Respondents can give multiple responses, bringing the total to more than 100%.
Specifically, the generation group with the highest percentage of people who identify as LGBT is the youngest – Generation Z (born 1997 to 2002) – at 15.9%. This compares with 9.1% of Millennials (born 1981 to 1996), 3.8% of Generation X (born 1965 to 1980), 2% of Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964) and 1.3 % of traditionalists (born before 1946).
“One of the main reasons LGBT identification is increasing over time is that younger generations are much more likely to see themselves as anything other than heterosexual,” Gallup said.
Most Gen Z adults who identify as LGBT say they are bisexual (72%), the poll found. That would mean 11.5% of Gen Z adults in the US are bisexual, Gallup found.
The increase in the country’s LGBT population was not surprising to Samantha Johnson, event manager of youth-focused events for NYC Pride, which hosts one of the largest annual Pride marches in the world.
“We break generational curses” such as homophobia in the household and in schools, Johnson told ABC News. “The visibility within media and events like NYC Pride – these are all factors that contribute to these numbers.”
Johnson has witnessed firsthand a growing enthusiasm among LGBT youth. In 2017, NYC Pride began hosting Youth Pride, aimed at ages 13 to 24, as part of its month-long Pride festivities. That first year brought in 1,500 people, she said. The following year there were 3,000. In 2019, the free event moved to Central Park, where more than 10,000 people attended.
Last year’s NYC Pride was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Johnson is working to virtually host Youth Pride on June 26 this year.
“We are here to provide this generation with a safe space to pass on to the next generation,” she said.
The latest results of the Gallup poll were based on more than 15,000 interviews conducted in 2020 with Americans 18 and older and could be an underestimate because of “older Americans who don’t want to recognize their LGBT orientation,” he said.
“This poll confirms what we have long known – that the LGBTQ community is a powerful and growing force in the United States and around the world,” said human rights campaign chairman Alphonso David in a statement. “Young adults, in particular, feel empowered to publicly claim their identities – a compelling finding and affirmation for the previous generations of LGBTQ advocates who have long fought for full equality.”
Amid the findings, David called on Congress to pass the Equality Act “to ensure consistent and explicit protections from discrimination for LGBTQ people in all areas of life.”
The comprehensive legislation, introduced in Parliament last week by the Congressional Equality Caucus, protects LGBT people from discrimination in the workplace, housing, services and public adaptation.
President Joe Biden has also called on Congress to pass the bill. “No one should ever be discriminated against or live in fear because of who they are or who they love,” he said in a statement.
Tony Morrison and Robert Zepeda of ABC News contributed to this report.