Lesbians Want Inclusion
Emily Goldblum & Betsy Laikin
Why this is important now: From the silent generation to millennials, same-sex marriage is increasingly becoming more accepted nationwide. According to a Pew Research poll conducted in early 2014, in the silent generation there has been an 80% increase in acceptance while millennials have increased by 33% from 2001 to 2014. State-wise, there are only 13 states left that are not recognizing gay marriage. Currently, there are measures being taken by top-down activists against homosexuality within states that are even granted same-sex marriage the same rights as that of a heterosexual couple. For example, in a California state attorney, Matthew G. McLaughlin, recently filed a Sodomite Suppression Act against gays stating that they should be given the death penalty and put to death "by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method." Despite the efforts of McLaughlin and other anti-gay activists, the amount of lesbian couples are showing up on the map more and more with each Census.
Who this community is: Our proposed community are those who are over 18 years-old and who identify as lesbians or bisexual women in the United States. This population is inclusive of all religions, ethnicities, and races. Through numerous studies/surveys conducted we will be able to achieve a general idea of the total population size, where in the United States they are most heavily populated and even where anti-gay activists or those attempting to stop them may thrive based on the support of the community.
Who might care about this: Queer women who feel outcasted by society. Allies of this community that show their support for normalizing gay culture. Also, allies who support same-sex rights.
Pre-Reporting:
Regarding acceptance of gay marriage, younger generations are more accepting of older generations. However, acceptance is much higher in 2014 than in 2001. Millennials acceptance increased from 51% to 68%, and baby boomers from 32% to 48%. This demonstrates an overall acceptance of gay people being equal to heterosexuals, and can facilitate an inclusion of lesbians as a norm instead of as the variable.
Hunter College Poll - First Ever Academic Survey of LGB Adults
Founded interesting demographics of LGB Adults that took part in the survey, i.e, approx 2.9% of U.S. adults consider themselves LGB, not many of these people think their being gay has much importance, and the younger generation of lesbian/bisexuals care most about being able to legalize same-sex marriage while older generations feel that this a lower priority.
Lesbians in Mainstream Television
According to an article in TVTropes during sweep week of television, when writers pull in a stunt to catch more viewers at the end of a season, it’s been more and more common to feature straight women who experiment with bisexuality. GLAAD creates a yearly study on lesbian women in television. During 2012 they reported the highest ever percentage of LGBT characters on TV.
While the Census Bureau has been estimating same-sex households in the U.S. they are working to update the questions within the 2020 Census to include a more specific question as to who the survey taker lives with and then to label them as opposite-sex or same-sex husband/wife or unmarried partner. It would be interesting to see how they've estimated thus far regarding how many same-sex households there are in the U.S.
While the Census might not do that great of a job collecting specific data on same-sex individuals, there is some data showing which states same-sex households are the most prevalent. These include most of New England, New York, Washington D.C., and California. Smallest populations are in the deep south, like Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and in midwestern states such as the Dakotas, Idaho and Wyoming.
comScore Metrics Show Increase in Searches for G/L Articles
Between February and March of 2013, unique visitors to gay and lesbian lifestyle sites shot up 40%, a larger increase than in any other category, including health, career and spiritually sites. This data could help prove how including content about gays and lesbians could increase overall traffic to sources not identified as LGB.
<a href=http://www.gallup.com/poll/175418/lgbt-americans-report-lower.aspx?utm_source=add_this&utm_medium=addthis.com&utm_campaign=sharing#.U_sedDuhjaU.twitter> Gallup Poll from 2014
Lesbian women report having a lower well-being than straight women, with a 56 index score compared to 63, in this Gallup poll, published in 2014. Lesbians also have a higher chance of street harassment when with a significant other, and have less of a sense of purpose in life, with 32 percent, compared to 40 percent of straight women.
Lesbians on Facebook - iStrategy Analyses
iStrategy analyzed gay and lesbian population count via Facebook. Some key insights included that 1.6 percent of all users identified as lesbian, and age 22 has the highest percentage of lesbians out of Facebook users in the United States. New York City contains the highest percentage of lesbian women, at 1.6 percent, with 55,000 users, despite certain findings that LGBT populations are higher in other areas.
Pew Research Center's 18+ LGBT Survey
A 2013 survey conducted by Pew Research Center of the LGBT population contains a nationally represented sample of over 1,000 LGBT adults 18+. According to the survey, 71% of lesbians say most or all of the important people in their lives know that they’re a lesbian. This is compared to 28 percent of bisexuals, 77 percent of gay men and and 54 percent of all who identify as LGBT.
Household Income and discretionary spending of Lesbian and Straight Women
Both single and partnered lesbians out-earned straight single and married women, averaging $44,000 compared to $38,000 individually. This is proof that lesbians have a larger disposable income than straight women, and are worth investing in as a community.
ACS Census Data on Same Sex Couples
Although individual gay or lesbians cannot be accounted for with ACS data, there is a good amount of data on unmarried same-sex couples. This working paper delves into same-sex households with children.
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