LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall’s survey in collaboration with the polling company Ipsos UK found out that more young people in Britain now identify as lesbian, gay, bi or trans.
Report says in Gen Z*, only 71 per cent of people identify as straight (compared to 91 per cent of Baby Boomers**) and 14 per cent of people identify as bi or pansexual (compared to just 2 per cent of Baby Boomers).
Two in five (40 per cent) of Gen Z respondents identify same-sex attractions, while 53 per cent (just over half) report being exclusively attracted to people of the opposite sex.
This compares with over three-quarters (77 per cent) of baby boomers, who say they are exclusively attracted to people of the opposite sex.
Stonewall claims that there is a distinct generational difference regarding sexuality.
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.”
Stonewall commissioned the firm Ipsos to conduct three surveys, each from England, Wales, and Scotland.
Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,150 Britons aged 16 to 75 from the 10th to the 14th of June.
A second poll was conducted with a representative quota sample of 2,176 Britons aged 16 to 75 from the 10th to the 13th of June.
A third poll was conducted with a representative quota sample of 2,187 Britons aged 16 to 75 from the 5th to the 8th of August 2022.
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.”
“It is also amazing to see that younger generations are no longer afraid to be themselves and have supportive families and social environments to thrive.
It concludes that “Age is the main factor that correlates with same-sex attraction. LGBTQ+ people are broadly evenly represented across gender, ethnicity, and class groups.”
At the same time, the new report from the Home Office says hate crimes targeting transgender people were found to have surged by 56 per cent in a year, as the number of overall offences hit a record high in England and Wales.
The majority of offences were motivated by race, followed by offences motivated by sexual orientation, disability, religion, and transgender identity.
The police reported about 156,000 offences in 2021–22, the largest yearly increase since Brexit.
The report, published on Thursday, said: “It is uncertain to what degree the increase in police-recorded hate crime is a genuine rise or due to continued recording improvements and more victims having the confidence to report these crimes to the police.”
It added: “Transgender issues have been heavily discussed on social media over the last year, which may have led to an increase in related hate crimes.”
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