Is mainstream acceptance of gay sex key to LGBT equality?

A study recently noted that more Americans are accepting or admitting their gay sex experience, which has raised interesting implications, i.e. does this mean that it will boost acceptance of LGBT equality in the mainstream?

Writing in The Advocate, proponents of the study Brooke E. Wells and Jean M. Twenge noted that the rising acceptance of same-sex sexual behavior may be causing a cascade effect.

That is, the more accepting the public is about this lifestyle, the more it helps increase overall acceptance. As the two state: “increasing acceptance and empathy are critical to improving the lives of LGBT Americans.”

Let’s back up a bit and see how this idea came about.

A study of gay sex

The study came out last week, documenting that Americans are more accepting of same-sex sexual behavior to the point that they’re trying it for themselves.

The team of researchers from Florida Atlantic University, San Diego State University, and Widener University discovered that nearly half (or 49 percent) of people that were surveyed admitted in 2014 that “sexual relations between two adults of the same sex” was “not wrong at all.”

Their findings were based on the results of the General Social Survey (GSS), a large ongoing survey of around 30,000 US adults run by the University of Chicago since 1972.

In comparison, the GSS reported that 11 percent of Americans they surveyed thought that homosexual sex was “not wrong” in 1973. In 1990, that rose to 13 percent.

What’s also telling is that more adults are having their own same-sex encounters.

The team noted that: “The number of US adults who had at least one same-sex partner since age 18 doubled between the early 1990s and early 2010s (from 3.6 percent to 8.7 percent for women and from 4.5 to 8.2 percent for men).”

“Bisexual behavior (having sex with both male and female partners) increased from 3.1 to 7.7 percent, accounting for much of the rise, with little consistent change in those having sex exclusively with same-sex partners,” the team said.

Experimenting with gay sex

The team reported that most of this behavior appears to be experimental.

“Lesbian sexual experience is highest when women are young, suggesting there is some truth to the idea that some women are ‘lesbian until graduation’ or ‘bisexual until graduation,’ at least among younger generations such as Millennials,” said Ryne Sherman, an assistant professor of psychology.

Fellow researcher and psychologist Brooke Wells concurred, saying: “Lesbian sexual experience is highest when women are young, suggesting that today’s ‘hook-up culture’ may fuel same-sex experimentation among women.”

“Female sexual behavior is partly about performing for men, whereas male sexual behavior is often driven by their own desire. This may help explain why we don’t see this same pattern for gay sexual experiences,” Wells added.

Acceptance of gay sex

Going back to the original point above, Well and Twenge noted that varying factors may be behind the shift in mainstream opinion as described in the GSS.

They listed some of these factors, like the “tremendous work of LGB rights activists around issues including marriage equality; inclusion and antidiscrimination policies in schools, government, and workplaces; HIV and AIDS; and the negative impact of discrimination, particularly on LGB youth.”

“That work has helped more and more people become public about their same-sex attractions, behavior, and/or identity. The more people who are public, the more Americans report that they know someone who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual, which then helps to reduce prejudice,” they added

“Simply put, there is likely a cascade effect here– the more accepting we are, the more people are public about their lifestyle, and the public nature of their identities (including high-profile media figures) helps to further increase acceptance,” they declared of the mainstream regard of gay sex.