More than a quarter of Gen Z Americans—which includes traditional college-age students—identify as queer, according to a January study by the Public Religion Research Institute.
The report said 28% of adults between ages 18 and 25 say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
“I think it’s the youth who are … critically thinking about their identities more than people my age,” said professor Forrest Caskey. “Now we have the communities … so people are feeling safer.”
In fact, the report said fewer older adults, including millennials, identify as part of the LGBTQ community.
The survey said 16% of millennials identify as LGBTQ, as do 7% of Gen X and 4% of Baby Boomers.
In addition, the report found 72% of Gen Z adults consider themselves straight, while 15% said they are bisexual; 5% are gay or lesbian; and 8% identify as something else.
A similar Gallup survey from 2023 revealed that 7.2% of adults identify as LGBTQ.
Caskey said members of Gen Z feel safer coming out because others have become more accepting of LGBTQ individuals.
“The youth is much more tolerant,” Caskey, the former faculty adviser for the Genders and Sexuality Alliance, said.
Caskey, the coordinator of the Academic Literacies lab, said older adults are “pretty much set in their ways.”
Liz Cavanaugh, a first-year psychology student, said LGBTQ adults have become more accepted with the help of the media.
“There’s so much more media around being gay,” Cavanaugh said. “Like movies, and then obviously celebrities who are gay, there’s just so much more normalization around it.”
Gabe Aquino, a first-year biology student, agreed being queer has become more socially acceptable.
“As time has gone by … it’s just more socially acceptable for people to come out,” Aquino said. “There’s not as much negative stigma.”
Aquino added: “Social media helps, too, because everything’s so much more widespread.”