Poll: Latinos more likely to self-identify as LGBTQ than other groups

A recent Gallup poll shows that the percentage of U.S. adults who identify as LGBTQ has increased to 7.1%, up 1.5% from 2020.

But a new report from Astrid Galván at Axios reveals that LGBTQ-identification is significantly higher among Latinos than white or Black Americans. As the data shows, 11% of Latino adults surveyed said they were members of the LGBTQ community while 6.2% of non-Hispanic white adults and 6.6% of Black adults said the same.

According to Galván, one reason Latinos might identify in this way is that they skew young and studies suggest that there is a close correlation between youth and queer identity. With that in mind, it is interesting to note that nearly 21% of Gen Z adults (individuals born between 1997 and 2012) and 10% of millennials adults (individuals born between 1981 and 1996) identified as LGBTQ when polled.

Such figures have led Jeff Jones, the author of the Gallup poll, to conclude that as younger generations begin to claim a larger proportion of the population, individuals who identify as LGBTQ could make up 10 to 15% of the adult population “in the not too distant future.”

Latinos are often raised in socially conservative and deeply religious multigenerational households and identifying as LGBTQ is often stigmatized and met with scorn.

As a community, they also face a lack of political access and visibility and often live in conservative states which have recently passed or introduced anti-LGBTQ measures.

The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization focused on preventing suicide in LGBTQ youths, has warned that continued discrimination and victimization has led to higher risks of suicide among LGBTQ – and those numbers are even worse for Latinos. The organization’s latest survey found that 43% of LGBTQ Latino youths seriously considered suicide in the past year, and 18% attempted suicide – compared to 39% of non-Hispanic white youths who seriously considered suicide and 12% who attempted it.

Nevertheless, QLatinx Executive Director Gabriella Rodriguez believes that although LGBTQ Latinos face many challenges, "there's a lot of resources and more access to information” and “the needle’s pointing in the right direction.”