A new study has some fabulous news: More Americans are having gay sex — or at least admitting to it — and the country as a whole seems increasingly okay with it.
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The study, published Wednesday in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, found the percent of adult men who reported having sex with at least one man increased from 4.5 percent in the early 1990s to 8.2 percent in the early 2010s. The percent of adult women who admitted to having sex with at least one woman also increased from 3.6 percent to 8.7 percent. And the percent of adults who reported having sex with both men and women went up from 3.1 percent to 7.7 percent.
The findings are based on data from the nationwide General Social Survey. The findings don’t necessarily mean that more people are having gay sex; they could show that more people are admitting to it.
There’s a good reason why people would be more willing to admit to the act: According to the study, 49 percent of US adults by 2014 said they see nothing wrong with “sexual relations between two adults of the same sex.” That’s up from 11 percent in 1973 and 13 percent by 1990.
Millennials, as is typical with LGBTQ issues, were the most accepting: 63 percent said they see nothing wrong with sexual relations between two adults of the same sex.
Beyond showing more people are enjoying their sexual lives more freely, the findings signal a huge, quick change in social and cultural acceptance of same-sex couples. And based on the age demographics, it’s likely that acceptance will continue to grow in the future.
