Of course, this all depends on one's definition of gay (which may vary by study) and the participant's willingness to identify as gay, bi, lesbian or transgender. So, why can't the actual number of GLB people be counted? There are many things to consider when trying to count the number of GLBT persons.
Just How Many LGBT Americans Are There? people to come out—a response to the myths that it’s now “trendy” to be LGBT and that children are being “peer pressured” into being gay Author: Samantha Allen.
By Gary J. Gates April 2011. Drawing on information from four recent national and two state-level population-based surveys, the analyses suggest that there are more than 8 million adults in the US who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual, comprising 3.5% of the adult population.
For many LGBT people, there is also a keen sense of dignity and power at stake in such research. “For decades our struggle has been to stop being invisible,” says San Francisco Supervisor.
There were few openly gay European men in America at this time, due to legal consequences as well as social ostracism. Anal sex was specifically prohibited by a statute passed in 1563 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and the English colonies in America were subject to this law.