1-in-6 Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ+, new poll finds

One in six Gen Z adults - aged between 18 and 23 in 2020 - identify as LGBTQ+, according to NBC News.

As per the new Gallup report, approximately 5.6% of Americans as a whole identify with one or more of the following labels: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or another unspecified term to describe their non-heterosexual or non-cis identity.

That's an increase of 1.1% since 2017, which is when the poll was last carried out by Gallup.

Of the participants who identified with the aforementioned sexual orientations and gender identities, 54.6% are bisexual, 24.5% are gay, 11.7% are lesbian, 11.3% are transgender and 3.3% reported using another term to describe their identity.

As some of the participants selected more than one of the categories, the total exceeded 100%.

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The findings came as a result of over 15,000 interviews conducted last year with adults 18 and over.

It appears that younger people are more likely to identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community than their older counterparts.

In fact, nearly 16% (or 1 in 6) of Gen Z respondents do not consider themselves to be heterosexual. This is a huge contrast to the 2% of Americans aged 56 and over who identify as LGBTQ+.

Gallup editor Jeffrey Jones believes the contrast is explained by the fact that non-heterosexual identities are more accepted in today's society.

"Younger people are growing up in an environment where being gay, lesbian or bisexual is not as taboo as it was in the past," Jones told NBC News.

"So they may just feel more comfortable telling an interviewer in a telephone survey how they describe themselves. In the past, people would maybe be more reluctant."

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Close to two-thirds of the Gen Z adults who say they are not heterosexual identify as bisexual. This represents about 11.5% of the Gen Z participants as a whole.

As for the Millenials (those aged 24 to 39 in 2020) who identify as LGBTQ+, half said they were bisexual, which accounts for just over 5% of all the Millenial participants.

The poll coincides with increased backing for the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the US, according to recent Gallup surveys.

For example, in June 2020 a poll indicated that 67% of Americans support same-sex marriage. In contrast, back in 2012, Gallup found that only 53% of people believed gay couples should be allowed to tie the knot.