A snapshot of gay and lesbian lives. (Online Survey).

Census 2000 may have gathered information on self-identified same-sex partners, but a broader picture of gay and lesbian citizens remains elusive--except when it comes to their profiles as consumers. The latest comprehensive data on these consumers comes from a joint study by marketing firms and Syracuse University, and its results both confirm some previous assumptions and reveal a remarkable trend toward "nesting"--individuals having partners or children.

Jeff Garber, president of marketing company Opus-Comm--which cosponsored the study with the gay Web company GSociety--says marketing is itself a form of activism:

"Having our presence acknowledged in advertising campaigns has increased awareness and promoted more acceptance [of gay people] in society at large." He added, "It's a win-win situation if advertisers can create advertising [that's] respectful and recognizes the wonderfully diverse community that we are."

Conducted via the Internet, the survey of 6,351 mostly openly gay people (only 4.6% were still closeted) validated some expectations: Almost nine out of 10 respondents had attended college, over 20% having advanced degrees. Median household income was $65,000 (compared with $40,800 for all U.S. households). Nine out of 10 were registered voters, of whom 80% voted in the 2000 presidential election.

More than half were in committed partnerships (58% of lesbians and 43% of gay men), and almost 13% of all respondents reported having children in the home--a remarkable figure, considering that just 29.6% of all U.S. households include children under 18. "People are starting to recognize that there's an increasing number of gay families," said Amy Falkner, the study's coauthor and lead researcher. "But I don't think anyone was aware that there's a real gender disparity there"--about 78% of those rearing children were women.

The importance of sexual identity among this self-selected group was also apparent: Overall, 81.4% said they identified more strongly with their sexual orientation than with their ethnicity. The flip side to that finding was the sparsity of African-American respondents--making up 3.4% of the total, compared with 12.3% of the U.S. population. Of the African-American respondents, 63% said they identified more strongly with their ethnicity than their sexual orientation. Falkner declined to comment on that finding.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION

Gay                          52.9%
Lesbian                      36.2%
Bisexual                      6.4%
Other / No response           3.6%
Transgendered                 0.9%

ETHNICITY

White                        88.4%
Other                         4.4%
African-American              3.4%
Asian / Pacific Islander      2.4%
Native American /
Native Alaskan                1.4%

OUT TO FRIENDS

To friends                   91.8%
To family members            78.7%
At work                      65.1%
Not at all                    4.6%

DURATION OF RELATIONSHIPS

Under a year                 14.9%
1-3 years                      33%
4-7 years                    26.5%
7-12 years                   11.6%
More than 12 years             14%

GLBT people out on the Web

The 6,000-plus participants in a Web survey provide a portrait of the
GLBT people online: Most identify as gay or lesbian and are out in
their daily life; among those with partners, more than a quarter
have been together seven or more years.

Racially, they are overwhelming white; 8.3% identified as Hispanic, an
identity that crosses racial boundaries. Results from the 2001 Gay/
Lesbian Consumer Online Census, a Syracuse University, OpusComm Group,
GSociety study