Acceptance of same-sex sexual activity has nearly quadrupled since 1990, while adults reporting at least one same-sex partner has also increased

US public acceptance of sexual activity between two adults of the same sex has nearly quadrupled since 1990.

According to a national survey of more than 30,000 Americans, those who view sexual activity between two adults of the same sex as being “not wrong at all” increased from 13% in 1990 to 49% in 2014. The shift was even greater for adults under the age of 30, with the proportion rising from 15% to 63% during the same time period.

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The number of people reporting that they have themselves had at least one sexual partner of the same sex since they were 18 also increased. For men the figure went from 4.5% to 8.2% and for women it increased from 3.6% to 8.7%, between the two time periods of 1989-1994 and 2010-2014.

“We think the big driver here is rising individualism - we think this is a cultural level effect,” said Ryne Sherman of Florida Atlantic University, who co-authored the research.

The shift, say the authors, is mainly driven by an increase in bisexual behaviour - a trend seen across all age groups and generations over time. Only 3.1% of adults reported bisexual behaviour in the early 90s, compared to 7.7% in the 2010s. The proportion of men and women who only had sexual experiences with members of the same sex stayed constant.

Published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour by scientists from three US universities, the research is based on data from the General Social Survey of US adults - a nationwide study that has surveyed Americans’ views on same-sex sexual behaviour for decades. Since 1973 questions have delved into public attitudes towards such behaviour, while the proportion of people reporting having partners of the same sex has been included since 1989.

The shift in attitudes was seen across all age groups over time, and almost all generations, but was not universal. The attitudes of those born before 1924 remained almost unchanged during the course of the survey.

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The biggest rise in same-sex sexual experiences happened amongst people in the midwest and south, and among white people. The authors speculate that could in part be down to the stigmatisation of same-sex sexual behaviour in black communities. Those who did not regularly attend religious services showed a bigger increase in acceptance of same-sex sexual behaviour over time than those who did.



But the researchers say the changes in attitudes and behaviours are not simply down to a generational effect.

“Change over time can happen for three reasons: people get older, it can happen because there are different generations and it can happen just because of the time period - what we found was that almost all of the driving factors here were due to time period,” said Sherman. That, he says, suggests there is a cultural influence at play. “We think that that cultural thing is individualism - the ability to engage in whatever behaviours you want, versus following social rules,” he added.

While increasing levels of acceptance might well have made people more willing to report same-sex experiences, the findings suggest that’s only part of the explanation. “It is also possible that as same-sex relationships become less taboo people are more likely to engage in these behaviours,” said Sherman.



Ellen Kahn, head of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Children Youth and Families Program, said “The findings from this study confirm what we see among millennial voters - they overwhelmingly support marriage equality, and LGBT-inclusive policies in the workplace, in schools, in healthcare, and beyond. Further, the findings showing the number of people who have had a same-sex experience are not surprising, and it is very likely that people are now more willing to answer honestly about their attraction and sexual experiences because the stigma of being L, G or B has decreased over time.”



Mark Snyder of Equality Federation said, “The more people get to know LGBT people, the more they come to understand that we are their friends, neighbours, coworkers, and family members. The growing increase in acceptance is the result of decades of hard work by organisations at the state and federal level as well as the advocacy of individuals who bravely shared their truths in the face of adversity. We still have lots of work to do, however, to ensure that all of us are able to live without the fear of discrimination. In fact, 33 states need to update their statewide nondiscrimination laws to provide comprehensive nondiscrimination protections.”



