4 ms·
I found the conclusion to be misleading, based on this “ The researchers split their study participants into two groups — those who reported having had sex with
by xivzgrev 6y ago
I found the conclusion to be misleading, based on this “ The researchers split their study participants into two groups — those who reported having had sex with someone of the same sex, and those who didn’t. ”
So apparently you are gay if you have had sex one time with someone of same sex sometime, anytime in your life. Bisexual, bicurious, some one straight who experimented, etc would all then be “gay”, which are all more prevalent than being strictly gay.
That’s like looking for genes that predict left handedness by selecting people who at some point in their lives have written with their left hand. No wonder they got confusing / weak signals. They should have limited to including only people who actually identified as being gay.
- musingsole 6y agoHarsh bucket boundaries are always the catch with studies like this. If you grew up in a smoky house or have had at least one cigarette in your life, you fall into a gray area of studies where you don't qualify as a smoker or a non-smoker.
- valarauko 6y agoMy understanding is that people who self identify as gay are a much smaller subset within the group of people who engage in homosexual activities. For example, in my Asian country a large segment of the guys you meet cruising are married men (to women) who identify as completely straight. Perhaps the wife is unwilling to engage in acts you enjoy, and sex with men is low effort high reward. I also knew many guys who preferred sex with men but couldn't fathom a romantic relationship with one, and identified as mostly straight. It's highly likely that most (though not all) of these men were truly gay/bi/pan, but unable to accept it due to social conditioning. I agree that a single encounter probably shouldn't count for the terms of the study.