ABSTRACT
Marriage equality in the US is relatively new and raises questions about how the institution of marriage meets the hopes and aspirations of sexual and gender diverse individuals. To date most of the scientific knowledge about marriage among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, etc. (LGBT+) populations rest on population-based data that focuses on the gender composition of a coresidential (cohabiting or married) couple and not their sexual identity. An additional limitation is that an important component of the LGBT+ population, singles, are excluded from research on marriage. Drawing on nationally representative data from Gallup, it is clear the levels of marriage have increased among the LGBT+ population but remained substantially lower than levels experienced among the non-LGBT+ population. Further, variation in marital patterns is based on specific sexual identities. For example, individuals with bisexual identities were most often (85%) married to a different-sex spouse. Furthermore, the married LGBT+ population does not consistently share the same health and economically advantaged positions as the non-LGBT+ population. Until population data on fully powered sexual and gender diverse samples are available and the diversity in sexual and gender identity is measured, understandings of marriage and intimate relationships among sexual and gender diverse individuals will remain elusive.
