Quarter of young people are LGBT, Stonewall survey suggests

Gabriella Swerling
·2 min read
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The Pride Parade in Birmingham in September - Getty Images Europe
The Pride Parade in Birmingham in September - Getty Images Europe

Stonewall claims that more than a quarter of younger people now identify as LGBT following its sexuality survey.

The LGBTQ+ charity said that there are distinct generational differences regarding sexuality, with more younger people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender than other age cohorts.

For example, for Gen Z respondents, who are those aged 16 to 26, only 71 per cent identify as straight, and 14 per cent identify as bisexual or pansexual. In contrast, 91 per cent of Baby Boomers, those aged 56 to 75, identify as straight, as well as 87 per cent of Gen X respondents and 82 per cent of Millennials.

Stonewall commissioned the polling company, Ipsos Mori, to carry out three polls in June, which is Pride Month, and August 2022, each with a representative sample of about 2,000 people across England, Wales and Scotland.

The study asked 16 to 75-year-olds questions about their gender identity, sexual orientation and attraction, and Stonewall said that the findings told a “positive story” but said more needed to be done to help bisexual people feel safe.

The charity said: “This report comes after we have witnessed a steady increase in social acceptance and visibility of LGBTQ+ people in recent decades.

“This new era of openness in Britain has led to an environment where more people are free to be themselves and are more confident in their sexual and gender identity.”

Nancy Kelley, CEO of Stonewall, said: “This ground-breaking new report shows that our lives as LGBTQ+ people are more visible and connected to our friends and families.”

She added that it indicated a “profound sea-change in our identity and orientation” as a nation.

The Stonewall figures come following the latest official UK statistics for the year 2020 on sexuality, published by the Office for National Statistics, which found that the proportion of the UK population aged 16 years and over who identified as heterosexual or straight was 93.6 per cent in 2020; there has been a “decreasing trend” since records began in 2014.

It also found that people aged 16 to 24 years continue to be the most likely of all age cohorts to identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual in 2020 (eight per cent).