Across the sexual social spectrum of America, more women are statistically stating they have had lesbian experiences or were bisexual. A study released this year by the CDC titled “Sexual Behavior, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Orientation Among Adults Aged 18–44 in the United States: Data From the 2011–2013 National Survey of Family Growth” examined this growing demographic.
The report used a survey of than 9K people in the United States, age 18 to 44, about the types of sexual experiences they have had, whether they are attracted to the same or opposite sex and whether they identify as being straight, gay/lesbian or bisexual. The survey and research was conducted between 2011 and 2013 as part of the CDC’s National Survey of Family Growth. There were several trends that appeared in the study. Surprisingly, the study indicated women reported having had sexual contact with other women: 17.4% in the 2013 survey compared with 14.2% in the 2006-2010 survey. Additionally, there were higher numbers of both women and men identified as bisexual, 5.5% of women and 2% of men, compared with 3.9% and 1.2% respectively in the last survey.
When it came to women of color, the researchers found “11.2% of Hispanic women have engaged in same-sex sexual contact compared with 19.6% of white women and 19.4% of black women.”
In addition, “Women were also more likely than men to report having same-sex sexual contact. Compared with 17.4% of women, only 6.2% of men said they had ever had this activity”.
Multiple research data from other reports has shown that 3.7% of all Blacks identify as LGBT, with 84K African Americans living in same-sex couples and roughly a third of those couples raising children. Black women who identify as LGBT are young with an estimated 58%. Among the parts of the United States with the largest populations of Black LGBT couples include Washington, D.C, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Alabama.
