A Third of Young Americans Claim They're Not '100% Straight'

ashley.rae | August 20, 2015
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Approximately a third of young Americans do not believe they are completely straight, according to a newly released survey.

The YouGov poll asked 1,000 respondents to place themselves on a sexuality scale, with 0 corresponding with “completely heterosexual” and 6 denoting “completely homosexual.”

While 78 percent of the total surveyed viewed themselves as completely heterosexual, only 64 percent of respondents under the age of 30 claimed to be 100 percent straight (with 4 percent stating they are not sure).

Thus, about a third (32%) don't consider themselves "100 percent straight."

People under 30 were also less likely than older individuals to identify as exclusively homosexual. Only two percent of individuals under 30 answered that they believe they are completely homosexual, compared to three percent for people between 30 and 44, 4 percent for individuals 45 to 64, and 6 percent for those above 65.

At the same time, 10 percent of the under 30 respondents identified themselves as bisexuals, compared to just 4 percent for the total surveyed.

The under-30 age group appeared to have a more fluid definition of sexuality, in general. Over half—51 percent—of those under 30 responded they believe that “sexuality is a scale—it is possible to be somewhere near the middle.”

The American YouGov poll comes after a similar British survey found more than half of Britain’s under 25 sample placed themselves as something other than “completely straight.” 

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