According to a talking point article making the rounds on the internet and attributed to the group called, Catholic Apologetics International:
“The true number of homosexuals.
The Kinsey study of 1948, which homosexuals often cite to say that 10% of the population is homosexual, actually says that only 4% of the population is EXCLUSIVELY homosexual. This study involved a disproportionate number of people who had been in jail for sex crimes (hardly a random sample of the population). Kinsey also did perverse studies involving young boys and pedophiles. Information on Kinsey.
Current research shows that the true percentage of homosexuals is in the 1-2% range (15,23,26,28). Consider how small this number is when compared to most of the numbers above.
(15) Morton-Hunt Study for Playboy
(23) Science Magazine, 18 July 1993, p. 322.
(26) United States Census Bureau
(28) University of Chicago's Nation Research Corp.”
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I am unable to find the particular article on the Catholic Apologetics International web site- but I did find some pretty awful “medical articles” that are rabidly homophobic in orientation.
http://www.catholicintl.com/epologetics/articles.htm#8I looked up some references regarding the percentage of gays in the U.S. They are listed below. And then, some questions for us.
What is the response to the position that gays have over estimated their numbers to 10% when in reality it is closer to 4% for men and somewhere between 1- 5% for women?
Is this central to fair treatment of gay men and women?
Is there a threshold number that must be reached in order to qualify for democratic voice in society?
Is the number 10% proposed by gay activists? Is it correct? If not- should it be revised and the correct numbers sited and then debate can proceed on the new facts?
I am confused and would appreciate any thoughts or a discussion on this.
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Studies through the years varied by technique and results and possibly affected by societal mores, sexual liberation and then AIDS.
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“In The Kinsey Data, Gebhard and Johnson (1979) reexamined the amount of homosexual experience in Kinsey's basic sample of noninstitutionalized males and females. They found 9.9% of the males in the College Sample had extensive homosexual experience. 3.7% of females had extensive homosexual experience. “
“Tabulations by Gebhard (McWhirter 1990) on Kinsey's basic sample of noninstitutionalized males and females indicated that "13.95% of males and 4.25% of females, or a combined average of 9.13%" had had either "extensive" or "more than incidental" homosexual experience.”
Hunt (1974)
“Hunt's survey of sexual behavior in the 1970s indicated that 7% of males and 3% of females had homosexual experiences during more than three years of their lives.”
Janus and Janus (1993)
Janus and Janus, in their cross-sectional (not random) nationwide survey of American adults aged 18 and over, stated that 9% of men and 5% of women reported having had homosexual experiences "frequently" or "ongoing
Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, and Michaels (1994)
Homosexuality was viewed as a complex of same-gender behavior, desire, and identity. 9% of men and 4% of women reported having engaged in at least one same-gender sexual activity since puberty.
Binson, Michaels, Stall, Coates, Gagnon, and Catania (1995)
Combined data from the GSS and NHSLS surveys showed 5.3% of men reporting sexual activity with a same-gender partner since age 18. Data from the NABS showed 6.5% of men reporting sex with men during the previous five years. The highest prevalence was found in central cities of the 12 largest SMSAs (14.4% since age 18) and among "highly educated" White males (10.8%).
Gonsiorek, Sell, and Weinrich (1995)
The authors reviewed methods used in defining and measuring sexual orientation, and briefly critiqued surveys of homosexual activity from Kinsey in 1948 to the 1994 study by Laumann, et al. Because of the possible risks involved in self-disclosure, it is posited that the recurrent 2-5% for same-gender sexual behavior in the studies reviewed represents a minimum figure. They suggest that the current prevalence of predominant same-sex orientation is 4-17%.
Hewitt (1998)
Hewitt analyzed past surveys on the prevalence of homosexuality in the United States, from 1970 to 1994, looking critically at the methodology of these studies. He offered a metanalysis of the typologies used in these surveys to classify the homosexual. He found five types: (1) open preferential homosexuals, (2) repressed preferential homosexuals, (3) bisexuals, (4) experimental homosexuals, and (5) situational homosexuals
A more recent study by Hewitt reviewed the literature and concluded:
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http://www.highbeam.com/library/docfree.asp?DOCID=1G1:53390356&ctrlInfo=Round18%3AMode18c%3ADocG%3AResult&ao=Homosexual Demography: Implications for the Spread of AIDS.
The Journal of Sex Research; 11/1/1998; Hewitt, Christopher
FINDINGS
A reasonable estimate is that currently about 3% of males are preferential homosexuals or bisexuals, and that another 4% are experimental or situational homosexuals.
The Implications of Homosexual Demographics for the Spread of AIDS
The increased attention paid to gays and homosexuality is partly due to the growing visibility and militancy of the gay community. Equally important is the emergence of AIDS, and the historical connection in the United States between AIDS and homosexuality. AIDS was initially labelled GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency), and regarded as a disease that attacked only gays.