Are Your Gen Z Kids LGBTQIA+? There's A Good Chance They Are – YouthSense

Parents, it’s official: Gen Zs are more likely to identify as LGBTQIA+ than any other generation.

In fact, more than one in five Gen Z adults in the USA identifies as LGBTQIA+ according to a 2021 Gallup survey.

That’s double the percentage from when Gallup first asked Gen Zs in 2012.

Our data at Year13 paints a similar picture, with between 17% and  22% of Aussie Gen Zs telling us they identify as LGBTQIA+ in our two most recent nationwide surveys, each polling over 1000 15 to 24 year olds.

So what’s behind the staggering increase in LGBTQIA+ identification in young people, and how does it compare with other generations?

Breaking the binary notions of sexuality

(Source: Axios/Gallup)

First of all, according to the Gallup study which surveyed different generations on this topic, Millennials (now aged 26-41) are also reporting increased LGBTQIA+ identification – from 5.8% in 2012, to 10.5% in 2021.

However the number of Gen Xers, baby boomers and traditionalists (people born before 1946) identifying as LGBTQIA+ has held more or less steady.

Jeff Jones, author of the Gallup poll, suggested changing societal norms underscore the increasing number of Gen Zs identifying as LGBTQIA+.

“Kids are growing up now … in a very different environment (and are) much more likely because of their environment to acknowledge that and to accept that compared to people in the past who were in a similar situation,” Jones said.

And, as more Gen Zs enter adulthood, we’ll see the numbers soar.

“The sharp increase in LGBTQIA+ identification amongst Gen Zs since 2017 also indicates that the younger Gen Z members are more likely than the older members of the generation to identify as LGBT,” Jones said.

“And should that trend within Gen Z continue, the proportion of U.S. adults in that generation who say they are LGBTQIA+ will grow even higher once all members of the generation reach adulthood.”

Translated into numbers?

As Gen Zs comprise an increasing proportion of the adult population, people identifying as LGBTQIA+ could make up 15% of the total adult population in the not-so-distant future. 

And for the distant future? Only time will tell.

Tags: gen zLGBQTIA+ParentsSurvey