By Andrea Downey
A third of young people describe themselves as gay or bisexual, a new survey has revealed.
Whereas just seven percent of baby boomers are equally attracted to both sexes or “mostly” attracted to the opposite sex — marking a stark generational shift.
About 14 percent of those aged 16 to 22 say they are mostly attracted to the opposite sex, while nine percent say they are equally attracted to both sexes.
And just one percent of baby boomers said they were attracted to both sexes.
The generational shift in sexuality was shown in research carried out for the BBC by polling company Ipsos Mori.
They asked 1,000 young people aged 16 to 22 and 672 baby boomers — people in their 50s and 60s — about their sexual preferences.
About 66 percent of young people said they were only heterosexual, compared to 88 percent of baby boomers.
The pollsters also asked samples of Gen Z (1990s to mid-2000s,) millennials and Gen X (1961-1981) about their sexual orientation.
Among Gen Z 24 percent said they were equally attracted to both sexes or mostly attracted to the opposite sex.
Some 18 percent of Gen Y said they were equally attracted to both sexes or mostly attracted to the opposite sex with 71 percent saying they were only attracted to the opposite sex.
And in Gen X eight percent said they were mostly attracted to the opposite sex or equally attracted to both, with 85 percent saying they were only heterosexual.
Some 85 percent of Gen X, the generation that came after the baby boomers, said they were only heterosexual.
The number of people saying they are only heterosexual has gradually reduced through the generations.
But the “boxes” of heterosexual or homosexual simply “don’t fit human sexuality,” according to sex therapist Louise Mazanti.
She said: “Yes, we’re seeing a trend of questioning the norms of sexual orientation. Young people are increasingly resisting the confinement of being defined as either hetero or homosexual.”
“These boxes simply don’t fit human sexuality and never did.”
“In my opinion, they are entirely man-made.”
“It’s time to admit that we might have sexual gender preferences, but if we gave ourselves permission it’s never the genitals that define who we are attracted to.”
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