LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Counting Queers: Poll Finds Americans Think One in Five Are Gay or Lesbian |
by Cathy Renna |
Somebody tell Ellen DeGeneres to call off the toaster oven campaign! According to Gallup poll numbers released yesterday, much of the American public thinks that one in five people are gay or lesbian. When the Gallup reporter told me the numbers on the phone, I think she expected a cheer. Once I got past my first thought (that all those groups called "One in Ten" will be needing new stationery) this very smart reporter and I spoke about why perceptions about our community could change so quickly.
"How many gay people are there?" is one of the most common questions we get from media professionals and the public. To me, it seems like a question that is vitally important yet also virtually meaningless. We've long known that the old standby 10% was steeped in assumptions. We also know that anti-gay organizations love to distract from the real issues by debating how many of us there areas if being "only" 2% of the population means you don't deserve the same civil rights as other people. Most importantly, we understand that sexual orientation is about many things, including identity, behavior, perception and self-acceptance. Sexual orientation falls along a spectrum and can be fluid over the course of someone's lifetime. As someone who enjoys living in a complicated (and reality-based) world, I look forward to a Gallup poll asking "How many people do you think are bisexual?" Here's the message I think the community should be sending now that these numbers are the topic of hot debate: "How many gay people are there?" is not the question at all. What we should be asking is "So, how many of us are 'enough' to deserve equal treatment?" It's fairly obvious to the people around us (more to some than others, perhaps) that there are a lot of us. Maybe now, though people will realize that GLBT people5%, 10%, 25%, whateverare worthy of equal treatment and civil rights protections. I don't think it's a stretch to predict that anti-gay groups will use these numbers to bolster their arguments that we "recruit," we are "overexposed" in the media, or that the public has a distorted view of how many gay and lesbian people exist. If they blame Ellen, it's got more to do with the public discussion that her coming out prompted than the comical incentive of small appliances. Ellen's coming out was a watershed event in an amazing decade of continuing progress. Having just passed another National Coming Out Day, we see more openly gay people in all walks of life. As we approach another anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death we can take heart in the impact of the The Laramie Project, now being performed in colleges and high school theaters around the country. So, once again, in the media and around the dinner table, we'll witness another "debate" about how many gay and lesbian people really exist. In the meantime, we will just keep moving forward with vigilance and courage. Eventually, we will reach a time when it won't matter how many of us there are, but that reality is still a long way off. My partner and I joked after I got off the phone with the Gallup reporter that my reaction wasn't what she expectedinstead of a cheer, she got a half-hour discussion on why the number shouldn't really matter. The well-meaning perception I think we will see from the non-gay people in our lives is that we would suddenly feel validated that a random sample of people thinks we make up 20% of the population. What I do know is that the more people see us, the more of us they realize exist. The more of us who come out in real life, the more people will know there simply are lots of gay and lesbian people. And what will matter is that we are treated as equals, not percentages or numbers. Cathy Renna is news media director for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, GLAAD. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 12, No. 14, October 18, 2002. |