A new survey has found that more than one in four Gen Z adults in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ+. The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that 28% of Gen Z adults aged 18 to 25 self-identify under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella in a report released last week. This stands in contrast to 16% identifying millennials, 7% of Gen X, and 4% respectively for baby boomers and the Silent Generation.
According to NBC, researchers also found that Gen Z adults are more ethnically and racially diverse than older generations, less likely to affiliate with established religions, and more likely to identify as LGBTQ. PRRI’s survey titled “Profile of Gen Z Americans Compared with Older Generations,” investigates various contrasting views between age brackets in the country with data taken from more than 6,600 participants between August and September.
Other findings spanned political, racial and social issues from student debt to social media. The same study found that 43% of Americans agree that “We won’t be able to solve the country’s big problems until the older generation no longer holds power.”
Around 70% of American adults in general hold some or a great deal of trust in the police, while Gen Z and millennials are less likely to trust the law enforcement, criminal justice and federal government systems. Non-white Gen Z adults are more than three times as likely as their white counterparts to experience discrimination based on their race or ethnicity.
In the survey’s LGBTQ identity breakdown of Gen Z adults, results showed 72% identified as straight, 15% as bisexual, 5% as gay or lesbian and 8% as something else.
Though an increasing portion of the U.S. population identifies as queer, conservative states around the country are working to restrict LGBTQ+ rights in educational and social realms. However, with more queer identifying elected lawmakers than ever, the state of human rights for LGBTQ+ people on a federal and state level remains paradoxical. States like Florida have vibrant and populated LGBTQ communities, yet also some of the harshest and most blatantly hateful anti-trans laws in the country.
