Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
Americans say they feel more accepted in society than they did a
decade ago.
According to a Pew
Research Center poll of 1,197 LGBT adults released Thursday, 92
percent said that society has become more accepting of them when
compared with 10 years ago. Four percent said there had been no
change, while 3 percent said society was less accepting.
A near universal majority (92%) also
believe the trend will continue over the next decade. Only 2 percent
said society will be less accepting in the future.
However, many of the respondents
reported incidents of homophobia or transphobia. Thirty-nine percent
said that they were rejected by a friend or family member because of
their sexual orientation or gender identity; 30 percent said that
they had been physically attacked or threatened; 29% said that they
have been made to feel unwelcome in a place of worship; and 21
percent said that they have been treated unfairly by an employer.
Fifty-eight percent said that they have been the target of slurs or
jokes.
Also, many LGBT people remain closeted
to their parents. Just 56% said they have told their mother about
their sexual orientation or gender identity; fewer (39%) have told
their father.
“Most who did tell a parent say that
it was difficult, but relatively few say that it damaged their
relationship,” pollsters wrote.
Gary Gates, a demographer with the
Williams Institute who consulted on the Pew report, told NPR: “The
lives of LGBT people are debated every day in this country, at ballot
boxes, in legislatures, in the courts, in corporate boardrooms. And
it seems to me only fair that the public have some information about
who they are and how they experience the world.”