how reliable are statistics that attempt to prove the ratio of lgbts to heterosexuals?

Question

i have seen several percentages cited on this section of answers, only i wonder about the research, as there are many people who would lie about their orientation for the sake of a quiet life.

my guess is that most people are bi, and i know for a fact that there is indeed a spectrum/continuum of sexual orientation.

so when people say there's this percentage or that percentage of gays to bi's and str8s, how much of this can we believe? and how old is the research being cited, since it must surely be viewed in the context of perceived norms at the time the research took place?

i also wonder if iq tests measure emotional and social intelligence, since these two types of intelligence must be important when researching ratios of sexual orientation (and incidentally, a high iq doesnt mean you're automatically intelligent socially or emotionally).

we are a constantly evolving society, and the studies into sexual orientation must evolve with our changing perceptions of the norm.

before anyone asks, yes, swotty did eat dictionary pudding for her breakfast today, lol.

brilliant! i always knew iq tests were for cerebrally challenged people lol.

my iq is slightly above average btw, my schizophrenia has diminished my mental faculties in some ways to a certain degree, as you can probably tell by my questions and answers ;o)

yohan, my dear, you're missing my point....

people who are in the closet might still not say they are gay or bi no matter how confidential the questionaire may be, some people are liars or simply afraid to come out. am not a liar though yohan, am unbelievably honest.

also, av no doubt you can be objective, yohan, but how objective are the researchers?

at the end of the day, it shouldn't matter what your orientation is, but there always seems to be this quota of people who enjoy making life annoying for lgbts, so naturally, we stand up for ourselves, and then get accused of ramming ourselves down people's throats. we are simply asserting our rights as humans, and trying to survive, same as heterosexuals, trying to make our lives happy and enjoyable.

if you knew hundreds of lgbts like i do, yohan, you would realise there is indeed a spectrum of sexual orientation. but of course, they could all be heterosexuals in denial, lol....isn't life fun?.... ;o)

Answer 1

Well many statistics say anywhere from 5% to 12% is a reasonable estimate but like you said many people will deny their sexuality for various reasons. I don't think we will ever know until such a time comes that a persons sexuality is seen as nothing more than an aspect of their life rather than a source that allows others to pass judgment and ridicule upon them.
Area statistics will vary proportionally to the "acceptance" in the area.. That doesn't mean that there are "lesser" numbers of people in any particular area, just that those who do stay in a more discriminatory are less likely to admit to their sexual preference(for some it does mean they would move to more open areas, but I don't think the numbers would be as great as one might imagine).

Answer 2

I think that they aren't reliable, just like saying "this many people in america do drugs." The bottom line at the end of the day is, people lie. If a study can be done where honesty isn't necessary, then it might be more reliable.

After all, how many people are in the closet or still trying to figure out their sexuality??? These are variables that aren't counted on and should be. I mean, I'm 18. There is no way that in a study a few years ago they were thinking about me or people in my graduating class in high school.

I do think however, that 10% of the population is a good guess. I think it could be a little higher now, but hey that's just me.

Answer 3

Having children ate my brain cells, I'd hate to see what my IQ is at this point of my life.

I agree that I believe that most people are bisexual. I believe we are all born that way, however like anything else, the society and culture we are raised in, determines if we are able to freely express our sexuality or not. Even among the gay and lesbian communities, bisexuality is not widely accepted.

I think the percentages are off, but really does it matter? As time progresses, human nature is to accept more and more as its standards, hopefully, we will see this degree of inclusion as we have since I was a teen over 40 years ago.

Answer 4

the percentages that gays and liberals cite are always much higher than any studies have found. yes, people are scared to come out. you do realise that these tests are CONFIDENTIAL? they don't hand them out to their friends and family afterwards. there's no need to lie.

you can't say that is a fact. you're either lying or misinformed. "my guess is that most people are bi". well done, sister. do you have a "gut feeling" that 10% of people are gay too? there's no strong evidence of there being a fu.cking spectrum. hasn't been extensively researched. i don't like homosexuals but understand what they aren't attracted to. is it so hard to do that for heterosexuals?

i don't see the correlation between sexuality and iq or social and emotional intelligence levels.

now i've already cited some stats on here but i'll go again.....america claims that 1 in 100 people are gay (this was quoted during the clinton regime, which was overtly pro-gay rights). no credible source has ever claimed 10%. even the most liberal countries like canada have done surveys and found the rate in males to be 1.7% and the rate in females to be 1.3%. bisexuals (male and female) 0.7%. what about south america, asia and africa? homosexuality is no where near as prevalent in these continents. africa's the most populated continent in the world and homosexuality is virtually nonexistent (probably because they haven't been exposed to the idea)

okay, i tried to look at it objectively, for once

Answer 5

I'm jumping in by avoiding the main theme of the question and running straight to the IQ matter. Psychologists have quite honestly admitted that they have no idea what "intelligence" is, therefore an IQ test is automatically redundant.

Answer 6

I think the percentages of gay/lesbian/bi have always been low, due to so many people that are closeted. as society has slowly become more accepting, more people will come "out" and those percentages will go up.

Answer 7

i imagine you'll warfare to get carry of those stats. the purely help i'm able to provide is that I estimate that there are 400m gay human beings contained in the international. it is depending on the similar old estimate that 10% of sexually lively everybody is gay, and that there are 4 billion sexually lively human beings. A wild estimate i recognize!

Answer 8

I suppose if you mesure up the ratio for everything in life.. it kind of messures out the same.. Individuals thrive on change and fit in to their surroundings, many people believe they are quite comfortable ignoring what they should;t have, I believe in my self and dont really need statistics to tell me otherwise.

Answer 9

now what is a lesley bean like you asking a question like this??

calm down dear, its only a commercial!

Answer 10

86% of statistics are made up !