A Gallup poll revealed LGBTQ+ people as a whole are now coming out at a younger age, with many surveyed citing greater societal acceptance of queerness and LGBTQ+ culture.
More than 70% of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender adults and other nonheterosexual or cisgender folks said they came out before the age of 30. Around 57% of respondents said they came out before the age of 22. Those who were in the demographic of folks ages 18 to 29, the median age of coming out was 17. A small percentage said they came out later in life at 50 or older, and about 18% said they hadn’t come out to anyone.
The Gallup survey also showed most respondents came to terms with their sexuality during their adolescent years. Nearly half of respondents — 47% to be exact — said they realized they were LGBTQ+ by 14, and 72% reported knowing they were queer by 18.
A separate poll from Gallup showed almost 70% of Americans believe same-sex marriage should be legal while 64% said being in a same-sex relationship was “morally acceptable.”
Around 70% of adults also said social acceptance of LGBTQ+ folks has “gotten a lot” or “gotten a little” better since the legalization of same-sex marriage, though around 25% of LGBTQ+ folks said they had received poor treatment or harassment “frequently” or “occasionally” in the last year because of their sexuality.
Gallup noted the increase in harassment could be due to the over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ filed in the last year across the country in many state legislatures, including North and South Carolina.
LGBTQ+ publication The Advocate named North Carolina as the second worst in the country for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation passed in 2023, falling behind only Florida.
The three bills in North Carolina — HB 808, HB 574 and SB 49 — target LGBTQ+ North Carolinians from different aspects. Other states that were also mentioned in Advocate’s list were Florida, Idaho, North Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky, Montana and Iowa.