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

How Many Americans Are Gay?

According to the American public, fully 23.6 percent of the U.S. population—nearly one in four adults—is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. That's what a Gallup survey finds. This guesstimate by the public is far larger than what Americans report when they are asked about their sexual orientation.

When Gallup asked about sexual orientation in 2017, only 4.5 percent of adults identified themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. When the General Social Survey asked about sexual orientation in 2018, only 5.0 percent identified themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

But many Americans are hesitant to identify themselves as LGBTQ—especially older people. So a more accurate measure of the gay, lesbian, or bisexual population is likely to be found in the responses of younger adults—Millennials. According to the 2017 Gallup survey, 8.2 percent of Millennials identify themselves as LGBTQ versus only 2.4 percent of Baby Boomers. According to the 2018 General Social Survey, 8.9 percent of Millennials identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual versus 1.6 percent of Boomers.

Even among Millennials, however, the percentage who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual has been rising as the public's acceptance of the LGBTQ population has grown. Only 5.8 percent of Millennials identified themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual in 2012, reports Gallup, well below the 8.2 percent of 2017. So, it's likely that the LGBTQ population is even larger than the responses of young adults suggest. But it's unlikely to be as high as the public's guesstimate of 23.6 percent of Americans.

Source: Gallup, Americans Still Greatly Overestimate U.S. Gay Population

Big Changes in Attitudes toward LGBT Issues

Gallup has been asking the public what it thinks about LGBT issues for more than 40 years. Below are the percentages of the public in agreement with the first questions Gallup asked in 1977 and the percentages in agreement with the same questions in 2019...

Gay people should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities
2019: 93%
1977: 56%

Gay or lesbian relations between consenting adults should be legal
2019: 83%
1977: 43%

Gays and lesbians should be allowed to adopt children
2019: 75%
1977: 14%

Being gay or lesbian is something a person is born with
2019: 49%
1977: 13%

LGBT issues, Gallup concludes, "have undergone some of the most dramatic shifts in public opinion—including gay marriage, which hardly even registered as a goal for gay rights activists of the 1970s."

Source: Gallup, Gallup First Polled on Gay Issues in '77. What Has Changed?

Majority: Nothing Wrong with Gay, Lesbian Relationships

What a difference a decade makes. The percentage of Americans who think gay and lesbian relationships are "not wrong at all" climbed from just 32 percent in 2006 to the 51 percent majority in 2016, according to the General Social Survey.

Although every generation has contributed to the growing acceptance of same-sex relationships, the biggest driver of the increase is the surge in support among Millennials. The percentage of Millennials who think there's nothing wrong at all with gay and lesbian relationships climbed 27 percentage points during the decade, from 41 to 68 percent.

Support among Generation Xers grew the least over the decade (up only 9 percentage points). In 2016, still fewer than half of Gen Xers were in the "nothing wrong at all" camp. Same story for Boomers. Approval of same-sex relationships among the oldest Americans (aged 61 or older in 2006 and aged 71 or older in 2016) nearly doubled during the decade. But only about one-third of the oldest Americans see nothing wrong at all with same-sex sexual relationships.

"Nothing wrong at all" with same-sex sexual relationships, 2016 (and 2006)
Millennials: 68% (41%)
Gen Xers: 46% (37%)
Boomers: 44% (32%)
Older: 34% (18%)

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2006 and 2016 General Social Surveys

Only 12 Percent Do Not Know Any Gays or Lesbians

Eighty-eight percent of Americans know people who are gay or lesbian, according to a Pew Research Center survey, with about the same percentage of Millennials, Gen Xers, and Boomers saying they know gays and lesbians. Among Americans aged 70 or older, a smaller 79 percent say they know people who are gay or lesbian.

When asked whether any close friends or family members are gay or lesbian, the 52 percent majority of the public says yes. Here are the percentages by generation...

Percent with close friends or family members who are gay or lesbian
Millennials: 58%
Gen Xers: 57%
Boomers: 50%
Older: 35%

Source: Pew Research Center, Support for Same-Sex Marriage at Record High, but Key Segments Remain Opposed