Same-sex encounters among Americans is on the rise

A new poll indicates that Americans are having more sexual activity with the same gender, which has in fact doubled since the 1970’s. The same survey revealed that during the last 40 years Americans’ opinions towards homosexuality have shifted; four times the number of people have no issue with same-sex relations.

The study’s lead and author, Jean Twenge, and a professor of psychology at San Diego State University said, “This data showed strikingly how quickly opinions on same-sex sexuality changed,” and the data “suggests a fundamental shift in sexual behavior toward more freedom and the abandonment of previously strict social rules against same-sex sexuality.”

The National Opinion Research Center’s General Social Survey conducted the poll spanning 1973 to 2014 and subjects were between 18 and 96 years old. Over 34,000 men and women participated and answered questions regarding their attitudes towards homosexuality. And 28,000 of those shared their sexual history the survey details.

According to records, the tolerance of same-sex relations just inched over 10 percent. Fast-forward to 2o14, nearly 50 percent admited that they accepted sex with the same gender. But the most notable jump occurred after 1990. These trends were even more pronounced with younger adults. By 1990, only 15 percent of adults aged 18 to 29 felt homosexuality was “not wrong at all.” In 2014, 63 percent said they expressed no stigma with same-sex activity.

Additionally, nearly 8 percent of men and 9 percent of women volunteered that they’ve had at least one same-sex encounter—a spike from 4.5 percent of men and 4 percent of women in 1973. Twenge noted, “The fundamental cultural shift toward individualism is more likely to be the cause of the shift (on same sex issues) than any one event or even a few events,” and,”Especially given that the changes happened over several decades rather than happening all at once in a year or two.”

Ilan Meyer, a senior scholar for public policy at the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles, however, observed that the study still demonstrates that “homosexuality is still stigmatized by a large proportion of Americans.” He also pointed out that shifting cultural landscapes don’t reflect an actual number of people who identify as gay or lesbian.

Source: U.S. News