Are there really not that many gay people?

Last updated on October 11, 2020

Question:

Hi Mr. Hamilton,

Sorry to bother you. I’ve been doing really good and haven’t been concerned that I was gay for a while, but yesterday was national coming out day for LGBT people and it got me thinking again. Sometimes I still look at muscular guys and I’m sure it’s just because I want to look like them, but I don’t get the feeling that it seems like most guys my age get when they see a hot girl. I went to homecoming with a girl I really like and I had a good time, so I don’t know why I’m worked up.

Are there really not that many gay people?

Answer

I don’t mind sincere questions, so there is no need to apologize.

Feelings are a horrible way to determine what a person ought to do with their lives. Feelings change faster than the temperatures in Nebraska. So you don’t treat girls like they’re sex objects. That is a good thing (Matthew 5:28). God wants us to do what is right regardless of how we might personally feel at any given moment. See It’s Not How You Feel.

A poll in 2017 found 4.5% of the United States population identifies itself as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. [Justin McCarthy, “Americans Still Greatly Overestimate U.S. Gay Population“, 27 June 2019.] But notice that this lumps a lot of people together with different sexual practices. Another survey found that 2.2% of the adult male population claims to be homosexual and 1.1% of the adult women population claims to be lesbian. Assuming that half the population is male and half female, then actual homosexuals only make up 1.6% of the total population. The remaining 2.9% would be those who don’t care who they have sex with and those who claim to be transgender. [Statista Research Department, “U.S. Homosexuality – Statistics & Facts“, 9 June 2017.] The number might actually be less because I don’t know how many actually have had sex with the same gender. There are many people who are convinced that they are homosexual yet have never had sex with a person of the same gender.

Response:

Thank you so much. This makes me feel a lot better.