Less Than Half Of American Teens Self-Identify As "Completely Straight"
Teens These Days Are Queer AF, New Study Says
Photo by Simone Bechetti via Stocksy
Exclusive: According to a new survey of people aged 13-34, members of "Generation Z" find the gender binary much less on fleek than millennials.
A new survey of young Americans aged 13 to 20 years old (also known, in marketing-speak, as "Generation Z") has found that they are far more open-minded and permissive than their older millennial counterparts when it comes to issues of gender and sexuality.
According to a report by trend forecasting agency J. Walter Thompson Innovation Group , only 48 percent of Gen Zs identify as exclusively heterosexual, compared to 65 percent of millennials aged 21 to 34.
On a scale of zero to six, where zero signified "completely straight" and six meant "completely homosexual," more than a third of the young demographic chose a number between one and five, indicating that they were bisexual to some degree. Only 24 percent of their older counterparts identified this way.
Fifty-six percent of 13-to-20-year-olds said that they knew someone who went by gender neutral pronouns such as "they," "them," or "ze," compared to 43 percent of people aged 28 to 34 years old. Over a third of Gen Z respondents also strongly agreed that gender did not define a person as much as it used to. This figure dropped to 23 percent among millennials who were 28 and up.
Those belonging to Generation Z also rejected the gender binary while shopping—only 44 percent said they always bought clothes designed for their own gender, versus 54 percent of millennials. But they also felt strongly that public spaces should provide access to gender neutral bathrooms, with 70 percent of Gen Zs coming out in support of the move compared to 57 percent of 21–34-year-olds.
"We did a survey of Gen Z for a report released in May 2015 and found that 81 percent said that gender doesn't define a person as much as it used to," said Shepherd Laughlin, the director of trendspotting at J. Walter Thompson.
http://mic.com/articles/137713/queer-teens-are-now-the-majority-goodbye-straight-people
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While 48% of teens identify as straight, over a third of those surveyed selected a number from 1-5, which indicates differing levels of bisexuality.
When I started to first become aware of my sexuality (other then being molested, which was just painful and confusing, not sexual) it was in the stone age and you were either straight or gay. Even though the person I was molested by was male (or maybe because of it) I have always been 100% completely straight. Like most people I have been naked in the presence of other members of my gender such as after gym class or showers in the barracks in the Air Force and, even though I knew that there were men who saw things differently, I just didn't (and still don't) understand what women find sexually arousing by the male body?
My son is gay and has said that he thinks this guy or that guy is cute, but I don't see it. I have noticed he never says those things when his husband is around! So, even though I am glad my son found a good husband (and he really is a great guy and I approve of him and their marriage 100%) I don't understand what they see in each other physically.
I really don't have an opinion about this, other than I thought it was interesting.
It seems like the idea of being not completely straight is kind of cool these days, for some reason, and I think that may be influencing this poll. In other words it may be dull or boring in some circles to be thought of as totally straight. All the edgy, creative and fun people may fall into the other half.
Who knows? I don't.
I've got a step son who is openly gay. He claims he is bisexual, but I certainly don't see him as anything but homosexual, since I've never seen him express an attraction to a female.
I've also got a step daughter who is sexually ambiguous. While it is well known that she has had several girlfriends who were more than just friends, she will frequently talk about how cute random guys are, and how she envisions her life with a future spouse. I'm pretty certain that she's never been with a guy - I don't know how she could. She wears men's clothes, uses men's bathroom products, and carries a men's wallet in her back pocket instead of a purse. She's got friends who are equally ambiguous. Having a conversation with them is confusing. One minute they're talking about their boyfriend, the next they're talking about their ex-girlfriend. She had a couple of transgender friends in high school, one of them had me completely fooled into thinking she was a boy.
These are confusing times. In a few decades, sexuality based discrimination will be minimized. It will probably always exist at some level, but the younger generation just doesn't seem to care what your preferences are, and that's a good thing. Conservatism's social mores will have to evolve, or else face virtual extinction.