Kinsey Confidential Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual FAQ
What is Homosexuality?
How Many People Are Gay?
What's the Difference Between Homosexuality and Bisexuality?
I Think I Might Be Gay/Lesbian. What Should I Do?
Homosexuality is a sexual and/or romantic orientation characterized by attraction to people of your own sex. Being gay or lesbian is a normal, healthy state of being. It is not a disease, it is not a mental disorder, it is not neurotic, and it is not dangerous.
Stereotypes - Many people think that all gay men are very feminine, while all lesbian women are very masculine. But homosexual people are as varied as any other people. It is impossible to know a person's sexual preference simply by looking at him or her.
Alfred Kinsey established the figure of 10% of men and slightly fewer of women are homosexual. Since his work (first published in 1947), a lot of studies have found figures ranging from 2%-15%. The differences in numbers can be mainly accounted for by the difference in definition of "homosexual." The famous 10% figure includes men who had predominantly homosexual contact for at least three years. Other figures require exclusively homosexual contact, while others allow a wider range of sexual behavior and desires.
This difficulty in "counting" homosexual people indicates one of the most important concepts in understanding homosexuality: people are not always exclusively one or the other in their behavior, or even in their attraction. Instead, sexual behavior is a continuum.
Kinsey developed a 7-point scale of heterosexuality and homosexuality. People could rank from "exclusively heterosexual" to "exclusively homosexual" to anywhere in between. And a person's rating could change over time as experiences accumulated. For example, a person might have all heterosexual experiences for the first twenty years of life and then have ten years of homosexual experience. By the same token, a person might have all homosexual encouters for twenty years and then have heterosexual activity. (You can learn more about the scale here.)
Another key thing is that it doesn't really matter how many people are gay. Homosexual people are just like anyone else, just like lefthanded people - another invisible minority, and roughly the same percentage of people. The only difference is that homosexual people are attracted to people of their own sex.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOMOSEXUALITY AND BISEXUALITY?
Bisexuality is a sexual and romantic orientation characterized by attraction to people regardless of sex. Many people who self-identify as homosexual have had heterosexual relationships, but they express a distinct preference for relationships with people of their own sex, just as heterosexual people express a distinct preference for relationships with people of the opposite sex. Alfred Kinsey's interview data supported the idea that about 8% of the American population are bisexual.
Some people believe that people who identify as bisexual are in denial about being gay or lesbian. While it is true that some people who eventually identify as gay or lesbian went through a period of identifying as bisexual, it is also true that some people are attracted to both men and women and identify as bisexual (and never as gay or lesbian).
I THINK I MIGHT BE GAY/LESBIAN. WHAT CAN I DO?
A really good thing to do is to talk to someone about it. If you can't think of friends or family members who would be supportive and caring, you can always go to the GLBT Support Services office on campus.
