Demographics
- 6,872 individuals 25 and under responded to the survey, which took, on average, 38 minutes to complete.
- The mean age of the respondents is 18.3 years old. The youngest respondent is ten years old.
- 5,310 (77%) males responded; of these, 3,400 (64%) self-identified as
gay, 1,229 (23%) as bisexual, 641 (12%) as questioning and 40 (1%) as other.
- 1,412 (21%) females responded; of these, 633 (45%) self-identified as
lesbian, 558 (40%) as bisexual, 201 (14%) as questioning and 20 (1%) as other.
- 150 (2%) transgendered individuals responded.
- 81.2% of the respondents were of European descent (white), 5.5% of Asian descent, 4.4% of Latin American descent,
2.7% of African descent (or black), 0.9% of Native American descent (or American Indian),
0.2% of Native Australian descent (or Aboriginal), and 5.0% identified as other.
- 5,380 (78%) of the respondents were in school; of these, 194 (4%) were in elementary school,
2,722 (50%) were in high school, 2,464 (46%) were in college.
Highlights
- The typical individual was 12.4 years old when they realized that
they were queer.
- However, it took them, on average, until they were 15.6 years
old to accept this fact.
- And they didn't tell anyone until they were 16.1 years old, on
average.
- 76% of the respondents have told at least one person that they
are queer.
- Their best friend was typically who they told first (42%), friends
at school (21%) or friends outside of school or work (10%). Only
7% of the respondents told their parents first.
- Of those who haven't come out, the most commonly-cited reasons
are fear of parents' and friends' reactions.
- Although there is still a long way to go, schools today are more welcoming and safer for queer students
than they were just three years ago.
- 13% of high school students say that their schools discuss homosexuality in a positive manner,
compared to only 6% in 1997.
- 51% of those in school have seen one or more incidents of anti-queer harassment at their school,
down significantly from 59% in 1997. 23% now say that such harassment occurs somewhat frequently or more,
compared to 29% three years ago.
- However, 60% have been verbally assaulted; 23% have been threatened with
physical violence; 9% have been punched, kicked or beaten; and 6% have been attacked sexually (raped) because they were queer.
- Scouting plays a role in the lives of many queer youth
- Almost half of the male respondents have participated in Scouting. 43% were a Boy Scout earlier in their lives,
5% are currently a Scout.
- Half of the females have participated in Scouting. 48% were a Girl Scout earlier in their lives,
2% are currently a Scout.
- Queer people continue to join the military, which often takes its toll in stress.
- Of the 200 respondents who are in the military, for whom the average age is 20 years old, 49% have never told anyone
of their sexual orientation; 28% are out to some people in their personal life, but not to anyone in the military;
19% have told a small group of friends and associates in the military that they are queer;
and 5% indicate that they are openly gay to everyone.
- 23% of those in the military were not aware of their sexual orientation when they joined. Of those who were aware,
the most frequent reasons cited for joining are because they wanted to serve their country (34%),
because service was compulsory (27%, all outside the U.S.), or because they needed money for school (18%).
- 7% of the military respondents have been the target of a "witch hunt", which typically ended in their discharge
and/or incarceration.
- Are queer youth any likelier to be left-handed than the general population? It doesn't appear to be the case.
The available data for the general population suggests that approximately 15% are left-handed. The data from the
survey falls within that range.
- 9.5% of females and 12.3% of males indicated that they were left-handed.
- 7.6% of females and 5.3% of males indicated that they were ambidextrous.
Interested in reading more? Here you go!
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