Not Wrong at All: 61%

This is something to behold. Rarely do attitudes change so dramatically in just a few decades. Between 1990 and 2021, the share of Americans who regard same-sex sexual relationships as "always wrong" plunged from 59 to just 27 percent, according to NORC's General Social Survey (GSS). The share who regard same-sex sexual relationships as "not wrong at all" climbed from just 13 percent to the 61 percent majority. 

Attitudes toward same-sex relationships, 1973 to 2021

	Not wrong at all	Always wrong
2021	61%	27%
2010	43	46
2000	29	59
1990	13	76
1980	14	74
1973	11	73

The "always wrong" response to the GSS question, "What is your opinion about sexual relations between two adults of the same sex?" fell below 50 percent for the first time in 2010. The "not wrong at all" response to the question climbed over 50 percent for the first time in 2016. Today, the "not wrong at all" crowd outnumbers the "always wrong" crowd by more than two to one. The majority of Americans in all but the oldest generation now say there is nothing wrong with same-sex relationships. Take a look...

Attitudes toward same-sex relationships by generation, 2021

	Not wrong at all	Always wrong
Gen Z (18-26)	74%	15%
Millennials (27-44)	67	22
Gen Xers (45-56)	61	30
Boomers (57-75)	55	34
Older Americans (76+)	38	37

Note: Percentages do not sum to 100 because the responses "almost always wrong" and "wrong only sometimes" are not shown.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the General Social Survey, NORC at the University of Chicago