Love & Marriage: 63% of gay and lesbian singles have always wanted to get married, while 25% say they never wanted to marry. How important is marriage equality to same-sex couples and does this affect their desire to expand their family? Supreme Court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. In a long-sought victory for the gay rights movement, the U.S. Only 7.5% of LGB singles believe sexual orientation is determined by experience alone. Transgender women took an extra 2.1 years before telling someone than a gay or bisexual man, and transgender men waited the shortest amount of time without telling someone.īorn this way: Gay, lesbian, and bisexual singles overwhelmingly believe that sexual orientation is biologically based, with two thirds (64%) believing it is completely determined by biology and 28% believing it is a combination of biology and experience. Who is most comfortable coming out? Those assigned male at birth waited the longest before telling someone, with an average of 1.6 years longer compared to biologically born females.
Additionally, of those who realized during adulthood, it took an average of 2.9 years to come out. Of those who realized before adulthood (defined as age 18), they went an average of 7 years before telling someone they identified as LGBTQ. Time in the closet: 25% of LGBTQ singles came out the same year they say they "realized" their sexual orientation or gender identity. Transgender women (MtF) – 50% realized they were transgender before their 13 th birthday and 75% of people realized before age 20.Transgender men (FtM) – 50% realized their gender didn't match their bodies before their 13 th birthday and 75% by the age of 16.Lesbian women – 25% realized by 12 years old, 50% at 15 years old, and 75% by 20/21 years old.Gay Men – 25% realized they were gay when they were less than 10 years old, 50% by 13 years old, and 75% by 18 years old.Key takeaways include:Įveryone has a personal story of realizing their sexual orientation and coming to terms with who they are The study surveys a representative sample of over 1,000 LGBTQ singles between the ages of 18 to 70+ across the United States, who are not currently in a committed relationship.