General Demographics
According to Gates (2011), "An estimated 3.5% of adults in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual and an estimated 0.3% of adults are transgender." This accounts for approximately 9 million individuals living in the United States, 1 million of which identity as transgender. (Gates, 2011). Additionally, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) found that when asked about their sexual orientation, 1% of people answered with "none of the above" or asexual (Mazaraki, 2015). Estimates for intersex people range from 1 in 1500 to 1 in 2000 births but are typically based on narrow criteria, focusing on visibly ambiguous genitalia (Intersex Society of North America, 2008).
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in the Workplace
LGBT incomes are generally less than that of the general population because of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination within the workplace. Approximately, 14% of LGBTQ individuals make less than 10,000 dollars annually, compared to 5.9% of the general population (American Psychological Association, 2015). Meanwhile transgender individuals are fours times more likely to live in poverty than cisgender individuals (Movement Advancement Project, The Center for Transgender Equality, & The Transgender Law Center, 2015). Coincidentally, LGBT individuals tend to have more education than the general population; yet, studies suggest that they make less money than their heterosexual and cisgender persons (American Psychological Association, 2015). Consequently, gay men earn up to 32 percent less than similarly qualified heterosexual men (Burns, 2012). While almost 64 percent of transgender people report incomes below 25,000 (American Psychological Association, 2015).
Furthermore, up to 68 percent of LGBTQ individuals report employment discrimination (American Psychological Association, 2015). Especially, the transgender population which is revealed to be unemployed at twice the rate of the general population. That is 7 % for the general population and 14 % for the transgender population (The Daily Share, 2015). Almost 47 percent of a 6500 person population said that the were fired, not hired, or denied a promotion because of their being transgender(The Daily Share, 2015). |
Mental Health
Mental health is commonly a concern within the LGBT community. LGBTQ individuals are three times more likely to experience a mental health conditions such as major depression or generalized anxiety disorder (National Alliance on Mental Health, 2015).
Suicide
They are three times more likely to experience mental health issues than the general population (National Alliance on Mental Health, 2015).
Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the United States for youth ages 15 through 24 (Suicide Prevention Resource Network, 2008).
However, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals are generally thought to be at a higher risk for suicidal behavior (Suicide Prevention Resource Network, 2008).
The Trevor Project (2015a) illustratges that LGB youth are four times more likely and questioning youth are three times as likely to attempt suicide. Suicide attempts by LGB and questioning youth are 4-6 times more likely to "result in injury, poisoning, or overdose that requires treatment from a doctor or nurse." Almost half of all trans youth contemplated suicide and a quarter have admitted to attempting suicide. Overall, one in six student (grades 9-12) have contemplated suicide (The Trevor Project, 2015a).
This may be because of a lack of sufficient peer support networks and harassment (National Alliance on Mental Health, 2015). The Trevor Project (2015a) found that LGB youths who came highly rejecting families were 8.4 times as likely to attempted suicide as LGB peers who encounter little to no rejection. Furthermore, each incidence of LGBT victimization, such as physical or verbal harassment or abuse, increases the likelihood of self-harming behavior by 2.5 times on average (The Trevor Project, 2015).
Substance Abuse
Within the LGBTQ community higher rates of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use are reported than straight people (National Alliance on Mental Health, 2015). It is estimated 20-30 percent of gay and transgender people abuse substances, compared to about 9 percent of the general population (Hunt, 2012). Roughly a quarter of LGBT people are likely to abuse alcohol compared to 5-10 percent of the general population (National Alliance on Mental Health, 2015). Often stress, discrimination, stigma, prejudice, lack of cultural competency, and lack of peer support are major contributors to such high rates of substance abuse among the LGBT community (National Allaince on Mental Health, 2015; Hunt, 2012)
Homelessness
Higher rates of homeless youth present a major issue in the LGBT community and it is often because of family conflict. The term homeless youth is defined as an "unaccompanied youth aged 12 to 24 years old (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2014). The four major categories for homeless youth include: Running away (fleeing youth), transitory or episodic (couch surfing youth), unaccompanied homeless youth (shelter hoppers), street-dependent youth (squatters or travelers) (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015). As a result of family rejection, discrimination, criminalization, and a host of other factors, LGBTQ youth represent as much as 40 percent of the homeless youth population (The Trevor Project, 2015b). Also, data shows that nearly 1 out of 5 transgender people have been homeless (The Daily Share, 2015). Furthermore, LGBTQ youth of color are more likely to experience higher rates of homelessness, harassment, and discrimination (Trans Student Educational Resources, 2015. |
School
Michigan Demographics
According to Equality Michigan (2012), "287,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults live in Michigan. From the same date, four Michigan cities made the list of top 25 cities in the nation with gay and lesbian couples: Lansing, Ann Arbor, Ferndale, and Pleasant Ridge. In 2011, Flesher found that Michigan had 21,782 households led by same-sex couples, which was an increase of 42 percent compared to reporting's found in 2000.
references
American Psychological Association. (2015). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons & socioeconomic status. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/factsheet-lgbt.aspx
Burns, C. (2012, April 16). The Gay and Transgender Wage Gap. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2012/04/16/11494/the-gay-and-transgender-wage-gap/
Cavanaugh, T. (2011, August 25). Is Michigan getting gayer? PrideSource. Retrieved from http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=48711
CityTownInfo. (2014, February 10). Discrimination against LGBT workers: Civil rights in the 21st century. Retrieved from http://www.citytowninfo.com/infographics/LGBT-Workplace.html
Equality Michigan. (2012). How many LGBT people live in michigan? Retrieved from https://www.equalitymi.org/files/uploads/how_many_lgbt_people_live_in_michigan.pdf
Flesher, J. (2011, August 18). Census: Michigan same-sex households up 42 percent. The Oakland Press. Retrieved from http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20110818/census-michigan-same-sex-households-up-42-percent
Gates, G. (2011, April). How many people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender? The Williams Institute. Retrieved from http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Gates-How-Many-People-LGBT-Apr-2011.pdf
Hunt, J. (2012, March 9). Why the gay and transgender population experiences higher rates of substance use. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/report/2012/03/09/11228/why-the-gay-and-transgender-population-experiences-higher-rates-of-substance-use/
Intersex Society of North America. (2008). How common is intersex? Retrieved from http://www.isna.org/faq/frequency
Krivickas, K., & Lofquist, D. (2011, November 1). Demographics of same-sex couple households with children. U.S. Census Bureau, Fertility and Family Statistics Branch. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/hhes/samesex/files/Krivickas-Lofquist%20PAA%202011.pdf
Mazaraki, J. (2015, April 3). Asexuality & the rise of sexual minorities. Retrieved from http://maldenblueandgold.com/2015/04/asexuality-the-rise-of-sexual-minorities/
Movement Advancement Project, National Center for Transgender Equality, Transgender Law Center. (2015) Understanding issues facing transgender americans. Denver, CO.
National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2015). LGBTQ homelessness fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/LGBTQhomelessFactSheetbyNAEH.pdf
National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2015). LGBTQ. Retrieved from http://www.nami.org/Find-Support/LGBTQ
National Coalition for the Homeless. (2014). LGBT homelessness. Retrieved from http://nationalhomeless.org/issues/lgbt/
Out Front. (2014, June 3). The effects of bullying on LGBT youth. Retrieved from http://outfrontonline.com/news/effects-bullying-lgbt-youth/
Sidney Borum, Jr. Health Center. (2010, November 12). Transgender awareness week: Stand up for trans youth! Fenway Focus. Retrieved from http://fenwayfocus.org/2012/11/taw12youth/
Suicide Prevention Resource Center. (2008). Suicide, risk and prevention for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. Retrieved from http://www.sprc.org/sites/sprc.org/files/library/SPRC_LGBT_Youth.pdf
The Daily Share. (2015, August 22). Here’s what it means to be transgender in america. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tInLr6RX_zA
The Trevor Project. (2015a). Facts about suicide. Retrieved from http://www.thetrevorproject.org/pages/facts-about-suicide
The Trevor Project. (2015b) Family acceptance and homelessness. Retrieved from http://www.thetrevorproject.org/pages/safe-community
Trans Student Educational Resources. (2015). Queer youth of color. Retrieved from http://www.transstudent.org/queeryouthofcolor
Burns, C. (2012, April 16). The Gay and Transgender Wage Gap. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2012/04/16/11494/the-gay-and-transgender-wage-gap/
Cavanaugh, T. (2011, August 25). Is Michigan getting gayer? PrideSource. Retrieved from http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=48711
CityTownInfo. (2014, February 10). Discrimination against LGBT workers: Civil rights in the 21st century. Retrieved from http://www.citytowninfo.com/infographics/LGBT-Workplace.html
Equality Michigan. (2012). How many LGBT people live in michigan? Retrieved from https://www.equalitymi.org/files/uploads/how_many_lgbt_people_live_in_michigan.pdf
Flesher, J. (2011, August 18). Census: Michigan same-sex households up 42 percent. The Oakland Press. Retrieved from http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20110818/census-michigan-same-sex-households-up-42-percent
Gates, G. (2011, April). How many people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender? The Williams Institute. Retrieved from http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Gates-How-Many-People-LGBT-Apr-2011.pdf
Hunt, J. (2012, March 9). Why the gay and transgender population experiences higher rates of substance use. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/report/2012/03/09/11228/why-the-gay-and-transgender-population-experiences-higher-rates-of-substance-use/
Intersex Society of North America. (2008). How common is intersex? Retrieved from http://www.isna.org/faq/frequency
Krivickas, K., & Lofquist, D. (2011, November 1). Demographics of same-sex couple households with children. U.S. Census Bureau, Fertility and Family Statistics Branch. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/hhes/samesex/files/Krivickas-Lofquist%20PAA%202011.pdf
Mazaraki, J. (2015, April 3). Asexuality & the rise of sexual minorities. Retrieved from http://maldenblueandgold.com/2015/04/asexuality-the-rise-of-sexual-minorities/
Movement Advancement Project, National Center for Transgender Equality, Transgender Law Center. (2015) Understanding issues facing transgender americans. Denver, CO.
National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2015). LGBTQ homelessness fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/LGBTQhomelessFactSheetbyNAEH.pdf
National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2015). LGBTQ. Retrieved from http://www.nami.org/Find-Support/LGBTQ
National Coalition for the Homeless. (2014). LGBT homelessness. Retrieved from http://nationalhomeless.org/issues/lgbt/
Out Front. (2014, June 3). The effects of bullying on LGBT youth. Retrieved from http://outfrontonline.com/news/effects-bullying-lgbt-youth/
Sidney Borum, Jr. Health Center. (2010, November 12). Transgender awareness week: Stand up for trans youth! Fenway Focus. Retrieved from http://fenwayfocus.org/2012/11/taw12youth/
Suicide Prevention Resource Center. (2008). Suicide, risk and prevention for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. Retrieved from http://www.sprc.org/sites/sprc.org/files/library/SPRC_LGBT_Youth.pdf
The Daily Share. (2015, August 22). Here’s what it means to be transgender in america. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tInLr6RX_zA
The Trevor Project. (2015a). Facts about suicide. Retrieved from http://www.thetrevorproject.org/pages/facts-about-suicide
The Trevor Project. (2015b) Family acceptance and homelessness. Retrieved from http://www.thetrevorproject.org/pages/safe-community
Trans Student Educational Resources. (2015). Queer youth of color. Retrieved from http://www.transstudent.org/queeryouthofcolor