UK Sexual Orientation Report: "societal attitudes are changing in favour of diversity in sexual identity"

[tazz]

For anyone who's interested, UK Office of National Statistics released a report today:

Sexual orientation, UK - Office for National Statistics

Sexual orientation in the UK in 2021 and 2022 by region, sex, age, legal partnership status, ethnic group and socio-economic classification.

www.ons.gov.uk

"The decrease in those identifying as heterosexual or straight may be attributed to more people exploring their sexual identity in combination with changing societal attitudes towards different groups and the expression of these today. Recent results from the British Social Attitudes Survey (PDF, 655KB) support the view that societal attitudes are changing in favour of diversity in sexual identity."

Sounds promising. Long may it continue.

Main points (quoted directly from the report):

• In 2022, 93.4% of the UK household population aged 16 years and over identified as heterosexual or straight, down from 95.0% in 2017.
• An estimated 3.3% of the UK population aged 16 years and over identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) in 2022, a continued increase from 2.1% in 2017.
• The proportion of men identifying as LGB was 3.8% in 2022, up from 2.4% in 2017; the proportion of women who identified as LGB was 3.0%, an increase from 1.8% in 2017.
• The proportion of women aged 16 to 24 years identifying as LGB increased to 10.6% in 2022; the proportion of men aged 16 to 24 years identifying as LGB was 7.9%.
• Those identifying as heterosexual or straight were most likely to be married (46.4%) in 2022, while for those identifying as LGB, the majority had never married or entered a civil partnership (72.0% of those identifying as lesbian or gay and 82.9% of those identifying as bisexual, respectively).

Edit, November 2023: ONS released an additional report which provides statistics about sexual identity and disability:

Sexual orientation, further personal characteristics, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics

Exploring the disability, health status, ethnic group, religion and employment of people of different sexual orientations from Census 2021 in England and Wales.

www.ons.gov.uk

 

[Twilight]

I find it a little odd that being heterosexual is now looked at as something negative. Everything is ok and celebrated, except being heterosexual. It just seems odd. Is the goal to get down to 0% heterosexual? That's what it sounds like.

Where in the opening post do you see heterosexuality being treated negatively?

I don’t think a larger percentage of people are LGBT than in the past. They probably feel safer being open about it than in the past. I’m LGBT. I’m not open to my family because they are intolerant and homophobic, but I’d be honest about it on a survey.

 

[Twilight]

I don't mean just in this thread, I mean in society in general. When the number of heterosexual people drop from 95 to 93%, that seems to be positive. It shouldn't really make a difference, who cares.

I doubt that there’s an actual drop. I think people are continuing to be more open and accepting about their own sexuality because society is more open and accepting. That’s a positive thing in my opinion.

 

[tazz]

This is good news because..? I just don't get it.

The report just states the facts. It doesn't take a stance on whether the facts are good or bad.

Personally I think it's good. My assumption is that many people who might identify as LGBTQ+ don't because of a long history of persecution (and for many years it was illegal in the UK). I absolutely do not think that we're aiming for 0% heterosexuality - that would be, frankly, ridiculous. Of course that is not a goal. But a situation where anyone who wants to, feels safe to express their orientation is a nice thing to aim for.

Everything is ok and celebrated, except being heterosexual

No, it isn't. What happens is that certain groups in society are mistreated for a very long time, and when they finally start to get a voice - they feel such a sense of relief that they dance and shout and wave flags. As time passes and it becomes accepted, and people are born and live their whole lives not being trodden on, they will not feel such a need to celebrate being able to express who they are.

No-one celebrates being gay. What they celebrate is being accepted as gay and being able to say they are gay without being locked up or beaten up or fired etc etc etc. .

 

[tazz]

When the number of heterosexual people drop from 95 to 93%, that seems to be positive. It shouldn't really make a difference, who cares.

It matters a lot to the 2% of people who previously didn't feel it was safe to be public about their sexual orientation. They care.

 

[Twilight]

So the goal is to reduce the number of heterosexual people? I guess I just don't get it. If we follow that logic it would be fantastic for those 2 percent if heterosexual people didn't exist.

No goal has been stated. The 2 percent change reflects that people are more likely to feel safe enough to be open about their sexuality which is a good thing. Just because people said they were heterosexual in the past doesn’t mean they actually were.

 

[tazz]

No but you did. You said "Sounds promising. Long may it continue.". And that's the overall 'vibe' I get from people these days. That's what I don't get. It's like there is a battle being fought against heterosexuality. As if it is something bad.

Sorry if I wasn't clear but that is not the intention and I did try to clarify in my previous comment.

It sounds promising, long may it continue, refers to the idea that more and more people who are gay now feel able to say so, they don't feel they have to hide it. I don't mean "more gay people, fewer heterosexuals - yay!" I mean "Yay, fewer gay people feel the need to hide".

Remember, that statistic does not represent an increase in the number of people who are gay. It doesn't represent a decrease in the number of people who are heterosexual. It represents how many people feel it's safe to say what their sexual orientation is.

 

[Twilight]

I miss the days when sexuality was something private. I never talked about my sexuality when I grew up because why would I. And who would want to hear about it. Some things are private. But But I guess times change, now people tell you their sexual history before they introduce themselves. I wish they wouldn't do that.

People were always open about being heterosexual. They talked about who they were dating, marrying, etc.

Being open about one’s sexual identity does not mean that people will talk about their sex lives.

 

[tazz]

I miss the days when sexuality was something private. I never talked about my sexuality when I grew up because why would I. And who would want to hear about it. Some things are private. But I guess times change, now people tell you their sexual history before they introduce themselves. I wish they wouldn't do that, I don't want to hear about that, no matter what orientation they have. It's too personal, oversharing.

Yeah I hear you. Unfortunately people who are persecuted because of their sexuality don't have the luxury of choosing whether to keep it private or not. They are forced to hide it. Choosing to keep it private - great. Being told your sexuality is wrong and you have to hide it - not so great.

Also, in order to obtain equal rights, quite often people have to start getting their message into the public domain and that means talking about stuff they'd rather keep private. It's not a nice thing to have to go through.

 

[Misty Avich]

I'm glad large age gap relationships are becoming more tolerated now.

I wholly support LGB too, although I'm heterosexual.

 

[Twilight]

I'm glad large age gap relationships are becoming more tolerated now.

There isn't any data in the OP about that.

 

[tazz]

I'm glad large age gap relationships are becoming more tolerated now.

There isn't any data in the OP about that.

No, but there probably is somewhere in the ONS database - it's a great source of good quality information. And publicly available.

 

[Misty Avich]

It included age in the link.

Sexual orientation, UK - Office for National Statistics

Sexual orientation in the UK in 2021 and 2022 by region, sex, age, legal partnership status, ethnic group and socio-economic classification.

www.ons.gov.uk

 

[Twilight]

It included age in the link.

Sexual orientation, UK - Office for National Statistics

Sexual orientation in the UK in 2021 and 2022 by region, sex, age, legal partnership status, ethnic group and socio-economic classification.

www.ons.gov.uk

It would seem that the percentage of people in relationships with large age gaps is declining.

Age gaps: The relationship taboo that won't die

Societies are increasingly progressive; today, many people accept that love presents in many ways. So why do people still judge couples who are many years apart?

www.bbc.com

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/19/politics/harry-enten-podcast-margins-of-error-age-gaps-in-marriage/index.html

You take the older partner’s age (50 in the example above), divide it by two (25) and add seven (32). If that number is smaller than or equal to the younger partner’s age, “the rule” suggests that younger partner is old enough for the older partner to date. And if it’s higher, that suggests the younger partner is too young.

[A]ccording to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of new female-male marriages that are breaking the rule has declined from 30% at the beginning of the 20th century to a little more than 10% in 1980 to a mere 3% today.

 

[Ella Spell]

Heterosexual people didn’t need to say anything because their identity was the default assumption in all culture from the day they were born. Children’s toys, clothing, advertising, religious texts, marketing, and even school books reinforced the idea that boys would grow up to woo and marry girls, and continue the tradition with 2.5 heterosexual children and a lovely wood-panelled station wagon.

For laws and acceptance to change people need to speak up and state that they do not follow this mainstream narrative and they’ve been silent far too long.

#pride

 

[LadyS]

I miss the days when sexuality was something private. I never talked about my sexuality when I grew up because why would I. And who would want to hear about it. Some things are private. But I guess times change, now people tell you their sexual history before they introduce themselves. I wish they wouldn't do that, I don't want to hear about that, no matter what orientation they have. It's too personal, oversharing.

Correction: HETEROsexuality was never private, but everything else was forced to be kept private. It was considered the norm so there was never a need to point it out or make something out of it, that's all.

Society was based on man+woman unions. Marriage, entertainment, commerce, you name it. Heterosexuals took it for granted that they were never oppressed for their feelings. And I have yet to see anyone being shamed for being heterosexual too. Sounds more like a defensive standpoint of not liking change.

 

[Misty Avich]

You take the older partner’s age (50 in the example above), divide it by two (25) and add seven (32). If that number is smaller than or equal to the younger partner’s age, “the rule” suggests that younger partner is old enough for the older partner to date. And if it’s higher, that suggests the younger partner is too young.
This doesn't make sense. In my case it would be 37 (after adding 7). I'm 33, which is smaller than 37, so I'm old enough to date him, but if I was like 40 that means it would be higher than 37 so that would make me...too young? Did I work that out right?

 

[tazz]

I have done a fair bit of teaching high-school age kids and young adults and I do notice that they are more likely to introduce their sexual orientation into conversation than older folk. But then they also, unprovoked, will offer their views on all sorts of stuff like politics and world events. It's those formative years when a lot of people feel it's important to express their views and "identity".

In years gone by, sexual orientation would be omitted from this because it was likely to get you beat up or worse. I think young people are less afraid of that now - which is why it seems like these days many people will openly talk about it whereas in the past it was not mentioned.

I think the important thing to note is that it wasn't "kept private". That't too nice a phrase for it. At the age of 19, when I hear someone saying openly in the office that gays deserve to die of AIDS and no-one blinks, I sure as heck didn't speak about my sexual orientation. It was none of anyone's business. There's no reason they would need to know. But... I didn't "keep it private". Rather, I was too frightened to say anything. There's a big difference.

Keeping it private is not saying anything but also feeling comfortable inviting your same-sex partner to an office party. Watching every word you say because you're worried someone might find out, and then attending the office party alone and having to endure people all night trying to hook you up with a "nice woman" because you're single, and watching them have a good time with their heterosexual partners, is an entirely different thing.

So now when I hear the young-uns volunteer their sexual orientation for no reason it grates on me because I think "dude, no-one needs to know that, keep it to yourself" but at the same time I'm thinking "how wonderful that they can say this openly".

 

[Ella Spell]

^^

I think the person who wrote that explained it wrong. If you are /2 +7 or older you are OK to date your boyfriend.

That’s according to that rule, anyway.

Individual results may vary.

 

[Misty Avich]

So I'm too young to date my boyfriend. Stupid rule, because I thought that as long as you are both adults it's OK. My sister was with a 45-year-old when she was 18, but for the wrong reasons (he was a controlling, toxic man), but the police could do nothing because she was 18+ (unless she confessed herself but because it was an abusive relationship and she was scared of him, she lied to protect him, out of fear).