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How do they test what percentage of the population are gay/bi?

Discussion in 'Sexual Orientation' started by BearLover, Aug 15, 2014.

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  1. BearLover

    BearLover Guest

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    There's a good chance there are more gay/bi people than we think, coming out of the closet for a lot of people is a very hard thing, many bisexual men stay in the closet throughout their life because of marriage, I'm a member of a dating website and every man that I've met has been gay, nobody has been bi, isn't it quite convenient for bisexual men to stay in the closet, they don't have to live a lie, they can still love their woman. Even the gay men said that in the past they used to be married, despite being gay. Some people can really cover things up.

    I was wondering, how do they test the percentage of the population is gay/bi? And do you think these test results are biased, the thing is, even when kept confidential, I still think many men aren't going to admit to being bisexual and some won't admit to being gay, they are so afraid of coming out.

    I can imagine surveys would be quite biased, the only way you could truly get an accurate percentage of gay/bi people would be to spy on them, if the NSA/GCHQ were to record how many people typed in "Gay Porn" or anything gay on a frequent basis, they would get an accurate figure, I still think even some wouldn't be searching that kind of stuff, they wouldn't want anyone to find it on their browser history.

    There are probably much more gay/bisexual people than we think, just that many people 1. Assume their straight and don't challenge their sexuality. 2. Too afraid to come out, to anyone, some even have to lie to themselves, they are too in denial to be comfortable with themselves about being gay/bi.

    What percentage would you say?

    Does anyone have any accurate sources of information about this without bias?
     
    #1 BearLover, Aug 15, 2014
  2. HM03

    HM03
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    I don't really have an answer for you. No matter what, there's going to bias, because as you said, some people aren't going to be honest, for whatever the reason.

    I can't speak from personal experience, but in-the-closet bi guys would live equally a lie compared to a in the closet gay guy. Even if they are in a relationship with the opposite sex, it must feel pretty bad not being 100% honest with their partner.
     
    #2 HM03, Aug 15, 2014
  3. BearLover

    BearLover Guest

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    Yeah, in one survey they think that around 1 in 100 are gay and in another survey they think that around 5-7% are gay, the thing is the surveys that have the highest gay percentage are more likely to be true, nobody is going to lie about being straight, but people are going to lie about being gay/bisexual.
     
    #3 BearLover, Aug 15, 2014
  4. biAnnika

    biAnnika
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    To which "they" do you refer?
     
    #4 biAnnika, Aug 15, 2014
  5. Really

    Really
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    The surveys are more likely to be of GPs or therapists who would be reporting on percentage of clients/patients and not so much from the general population who would be self-designating. Obviously, they would have had to have been told by the person but it would be a more controlled environment. Actually, now that I think about it, many surveys are done of medical professionals - nurses, etc - they're a captive audience and as it would be anonymous, you get better results, in theory. There is also always a built in allowance for error. Something like +/- 5%, 85% of the time. Don't quote me on that, though. My last statistics class was a gazillion years ago.
     
    #5 Really, Aug 16, 2014
  6. Ivysaur

    Ivysaur
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    I don't think an accurate test is out there. Many people would lie about being gay/bisexual, regardless of the anonymity or constantly repress their sexuality to the point where they force themselves to appear straight.
     
    #6 Ivysaur, Aug 16, 2014
  7. asdfghjk

    asdfghjk Guest

    on medical papers and siutations and such, dont they phrase it as "have you ever had male sexual contact" or something instead of gay or a gay experience because far too many people are either in denial or are closeted and they dont want people to lie?

    i imagine a survey is like that times a hundred so there prob isnt a really good statistic out there especially globally
     
    #7 asdfghjk, Aug 16, 2014
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