Why are americans so gay

There are many answers to that question, but ultimately we cannot know whether a person who lived in the past would be considered lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender today. To paraphrase the late gay activist Harry Hay , history knows more about gay people than it knows it knows.

In a recent survey, we found that Americans who identify as bisexual are more likely than those who identify as gay, lesbian or straight to express uncertainty about who they are. Chicago: Woman's Temperance Publication Association, But I was very careful not to say that the people who lived in the lateth and the 19th centuries were gay.

How can we tell whether someone was gay? In this exhibition I sought to show that textual and visual material related to gay history has long been abundantly represented on our shelves. Beneath the covers of our books there are many stories. Frances E.

Glimpses of Fifty Years. I attempted to show that, in the 19th century, same-sex relationships were hallmarks of good character in what I refer to as the "homosocial fabric of culture. That does not mean that we cannot study gay history. “Acceptance cannot be legislated.” In its first three years of results, the index showed a steady increase in Americans who felt comfortable with LGBTQ issues and people.

In fact, the big challenge was to present early same-sex relationships and the culture in which they flourished in a way that represented their moment and not our own. 61% of LGBTQ adults say there’s at least a fair amount of acceptance for people who are gay or lesbian. In short, minority men were more likely to assert such an identity — young African-American and Latino American men approximately 50 percent more likely, and young Asian men about a quarter.

Individuals took part in same-sex relationships, wrote poems and novels celebrating such relationships, deviated from gender norms, and suffered for transgressive behavior in ways that are well-documented in the historical record. After all, words like "lesbian" and "homosexual" as labels to identify people by sexual preference first came into the language in the 20th century.

Leaves of Grass. About half (52%) say the same for people who are bisexual. Brooklyn, Willard Frances E. Walt Whitman Walt Whitman.