Some 56% of all LGBT adults have told their mother about their sexual orientation or gender identity and 39% have told their fathers. While public attitudes have been changing significantly over the last few decades about a child “coming out,” the experience is still a difficult one for many LGBT adults, according to our survey. That contrasts with 1985 when 64% said in a Los Angeles Times survey that they would be “very upset” if their child told them he or she was gay or lesbian. Coming OutĪbout one-in-five adults (19%) say they would be very upset if they learned their child was gay or lesbian. While that is unchanged from 2011, it represents a 15-point decline since 2007 (from 50%). Currently, 35% view this as a negative trend for society. The number of Americans who had a favorable view of gay men stands at 55%, an 18 percentage point increase compared to a decade earlier 58% had a favorable opinion of lesbians, a 19 percentage point increase over the same time span.Ī March-April survey of the general public also showed that, in recent years, there has been a decline in the percentage of Americans who think that more gays and lesbians raising children is a bad thing for American society. While LGBT adults say society is more accepting, just 19% say there is “a lot” of social acceptance today and many say they have been victims of discrimination, such as being subject to slurs or jokes, or suffering rejection by a family member. The survey of the general public focused on views of gay men and lesbians.īut taken together, the surveys offer some commonalities in several areas: acceptance, the experience of telling friends and family, the importance of personal contact, and in the difficult terrain of religion. The LGBT survey included bisexuals (who comprise 40% of the LGBT survey) and transgender adults.
The surveys do not offer a perfect comparison. Just under half of Americans (45%) say they think engaging in homosexual behavior is a sin. On the part of the general public, opposition to same-sex marriage remains substantial, and religious beliefs are a major factor. While an overwhelming number (92%) of LBGT adults saw society as having become more accepting over the last decade, many reported continued discrimination, taking various forms.
As the Supreme Court readies its long-awaited ruling on same-sex marriage, two Pew Research Center surveys this spring - one of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adults and the other of the American public - found a common thread: that society as a whole has become more accepting of gays and lesbians.