ABSTRACT
Introduction e concept of sexual orientation as a demographic characteristic is a relatively new idea. Academic scholarship focusing on the distinct demographic, economic, and geographic characteristics of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is relatively recent and tends to rely on limited data resources.
Contents Introduction ..........................................................................................................1 Data Resources and Methodological Challenges ....................................................2 What Is the Number of People Who Are Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, or Transgender? ...................................................................................................... 4 Coming Out .........................................................................................................7 Geographic Distribution of the LGBT Community ..............................................8 Demographic Characteristics: Age, Race, and Ethnicity ......................................10 Educational Attainment and Socioeconomic Status .............................................12 Immigration ........................................................................................................15 Military Service ...................................................................................................15 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................17 References ...........................................................................................................18
is chapter will summarize existing literature that describes the demographic, economic, and geographic characteristics of the LGBT population. It will primarily present analyses using population-based data sources including data on samesex couples from the 2010 U.S. Census and the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, along with data from the General Social Survey (Smith et al. 2013),* the Gallup Daily tracking survey, and the Pew Research LGBT Survey.
