I ran into this question a couple of years ago. After hunting down as many resources as I could, I found no answer. The difficult part about answering this question is a measurement issue. To ask how many people are gay presents the question of what you mean by "being gay." Does that mean participate in homosexual acts? Does kissing count? Does one have to participate in homosexual acts to orgasm to be considered truly "gay?" What if someone feels gay but does not act upon it? Kinsey's work was based on homosexual behavior (see his scale). From his work, he said that 10% [the magic number] demonstrated homosexual behavior for 3 or more years, but only 4% considered themselves lifelong homosexuals. What does this mean? NOTHING.
Sexuality is not an either/or classification. It is a complex relationship of desire, attraction, behavior, and identity among many other areas. Our students would be better served by understanding the complexity around sexuality, rather that simplistic definitions. The other consideration is does it matter how many people are gay? Given our society's rigidity around sexuality, would more people be gay if society allowed more permeable boundaries? My current favorite piece of GLBT research is (How) does the sexual orientation of parents matter? Stacey, Judith; Biblarz, Timothy J.; American Sociological Review, Vol 66(2), Apr 2001. pp. 159-183. My 2 cents, Rob Rob Weisskirch, MSW, Ph.D. Human Development Program Department of Liberal Studies, Building 15 100 Campus Center California State University, Monterey Bay Seaside, CA 93955-8001 (831) 582-5079 [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
