Turns out, young people are just as gay as we thought. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), almost 1 in 10 of all 16 to 24-year-olds are estimated to identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB).
The ONS found that young people identifying as LGB was higher than any other age group, compared to the 5.1% of 25 to 34-year-olds, and 3% of people aged 35 to 49, and 2% of 50 to 64-year-olds.
Research also found that the proportion of men identifying as LGB was 3.8% in 2022, up from 2.4% in 2017, while the proportion of women identifying as LGB was 3.0%, increasing from 1.8% in 2017.
The ONS explains: “The decrease in those identifying as heterosexual or straight may be attributed to more people exploring their sexual identity in combination with changing societal attitudes towards different groups and the expression of these today.”
They shared results from the British Social Attitudes Survey that support the view that “societal attitudes are changing in favour of diversity in sexual identity”.
A win for queer women
More young women now identify as LGB as opposed to men – the ONS states around one in 10 young women in the UK now identify themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual.
10.6% of women aged 16 to 24 identified as LGB in 2022, which was up from 4.8% in 2017. The proportion among 16 to 24-year-old men was significantly lower. It was 7.9% in 2022, going up from 3.8% in 2017.
The gays are serving c*nt, honey
Robbie de Santos, director of communications at the LGBTQIA+ rights charity Stonewall, said: “It’s encouraging that more lesbian, bi and gay young people feel comfortable being their true selves. Noone should have to hide who they are because they fear backlash or discrimination.
“While these statistics are welcome news, we must remember that LGBTQ+ people still face rising hate and increasing intolerance. The sad truth is that too many LGBTQ+ still feel unsafe simply for being themselves, and it’s vital that we all keep on fighting for a brighter future.”
Across the nations and regions of the UK, London had the highest proportion of people aged 16 and over identifying as LGB (one in 20 people).
The East Midlands had the lowest proportion (2.1%), while Northern Ireland was the lowest among all nations (1.8%), coming far behind Wales (4.3%), Scotland (3.4%) and England (3.3%).