The Pew Research Center released the reports of surveys on LGBTQ attitudes and demographics last year. The studies measured roughly 1200 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals in the US. But with University of Oregon earning one of the highest ratings in the country for being LGBTQ-friendly, how true are these trends for average Ducks?
Maure Smith-Benanti, assistant director of LGBT Education and Support Services Program for the UO, witnesses the trends and opinions around issues of sexual orientation at the college level. She serves as an advisor to the UO LGBTQA, advisor to UO QTSS (a housing group) and Theta Pi Sigma sorority. In addition, Smith-Benanti oversees the Bridges program, the Queer Ally Coalition and the outreach team. Below are her responses to each statistic and how it relates to the UO community.
1. 40 percent of the LGBTQ population identifies as bisexual – and there are about 3 times as many bisexual women as men.
Smith-Benanti is not surprised by the data about fewer bisexual males – she believes that bisexual men tend to underreport.
2. Only 28 percent of bisexuals say that important people in their lives know about their sexual orientation.
Smith-Benanti: “A lot of us Americans assume heterosexuality … There’s a lot of assumption that when a relationship looks like a heterosexual couple, that it just is.”
3. About 30 percent of respondents say they’ve been threatened or physically attacked for their sexual orientation.
This statistic holds true in the UO community, says Smith-Benanti. “I would say 30 percent is a low number in general, first of all,” Smith-Benanti said, adding that people tend not to report threats. “But it probably applies anecdotally (to the UO). I can think of a lot of students who’ve been threatened physically or verbally.”
4. Most respondents said the top priority for policy issues is equal employment rights – not equal marriage rights.
Smith-Benanti says that for college students in general, marriage may not be as relevant. “I’ve noticed that LGBTQ students are more concerned with employment nondiscrimination, but also with things like youth homelessness. Sometimes they’re frustrated with the (national) LGTBQ focus on marriage equality, because they feel like there’s more pressing issues.”
5. While 51 percent of Americans favor marriage for LGBTQ individuals, 35 percent of Americans think that raising children is a bad thing.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if people still have an issue with LGBTQ parents raising kids,” Smith-Benanti said, in part because of deeply-held religious beliefs and fear of the unknown. “I do hear a lot of UO students who are concerned that children of LGBTQ parents might get bullied in school.”
Overall, Smith-Benanti is positive about the outlook of the LGBTQ community.
“I’m pretty happy the way that things are evolving,” Smith-Benanti said. “It seems to be that the LGBTQ community and especially the students that I work with are really working to make the community better.”