ABSTRACT
There is no question today that people who identify as lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) are a sexual minority group, but what is less clear to some is that LGB persons are part of a larger population of those who experience same-sex attraction. In other words, some people who experience same-sex attraction report a homosexual or bisexual orientation. Among those who report a homosexual or bisexual orientation, some integrate their experiences of attraction into an LGB identity. However, a disenfranchised group of persons exists who experience same-sex attraction but dis-identify with a gay identity. They have no voice in the community of persons who experience same-sex attraction, in part because that community is currently represented by those who have integrated their experiences of same-sex attraction into an LGB identity. This is one of the ways in which Spitzer’s study has made a contribution: it has given a voice to the disenfranchised within a minority group.
