April 22, 2013

The Statistics of Gay Men

By Jim Hlavac
Well, no one knows the number of us. Or how to count us. Or what to count. Or even if we should be counted. So anything said is pretty much guessing, or even, alas, fabrication. Still, I would like to look at our alleged numbers. First, the census does not count us. There has never been a question in the census asking if one is a gay man. NPR reports that for the 2010 census: "Next year, for the first time, the United States census will count same-sex couples who identify themselves as spouses." This doesn't even count gay men, nor gay couples, but only those who claim they're couples; I know couples who would not answer, and I'm single, so I would not be counted. In 2000 gay couples tried to get counted - even though the census did not specifically try to count us - and there was controversy about the way the vague question was tabulated. Apparently, the Census bureau changed gay couples to straight couples; not surprising since they weren't asking the question and their...(Read Full Article)