4 ms·

I'm only bi, but this isn't obvious at all to me. In fact it seems obviously wrong. Most marginalized groups don't "overcompensate in achievement-related domain

I'm only bi, but this isn't obvious at all to me. In fact it seems obviously wrong. Most marginalized groups don't "overcompensate in achievement-related domains", and I don't see what mechanism would make LGBT people be any different. More plausible to me is that these studies can't capture the true concentration of gay people, only the concentration of out gay people. And it's easier to be out, to the rest of the world and to yourself, when you're in an environment that won't punish you for it. And richer environments tend to be less homophobic, so even if the concentration of gay people is the same, more will be out in the richer parts of society. I grew up in an very homophobic, very poor rural community, and convinced myself I was straight. Then when I went to college I had basically my first exposure to openly gay people and eventually realized I had been deluding myself. That would probably never had happened if I stayed in my hometown.

curryst 5y ago
> Most marginalized groups don't "overcompensate in achievement-related domains", and I don't see what mechanism would make LGBT people be any different. A significant difference is that for the LGBT people, revealing their marginalized status is a choice. A Black kid can't pretend to be white, but a gay kid can pretend to be straight (or their birth gender). Adults can as well, but being able to get an education in the in group seems like a significant difference. I doubt it's emotionally healthy to do so, but neither is getting discriminated against. Even having the option between a rock and a hard place might give people a sense of control over their lives that they lack if their only option is getting discriminated against. Familial achievement might also be related. Many marginalized groups have highly heritable traits, like skin tone or facial features. Their families have been discriminated against for generations. Many LGBT people are born into non-marginalized families, so the median familial income might be higher. There might be data on this, but I couldn't find it easily, so I could be totally off base. I'm not proposing that's the reasoning behind this effect, just pointing out there is a mechanism by which there would be a reasonable difference. Neither of those would account for the difference in college graduation rates for lesbians vs gay men, though.

curryst 5y ago

> Most marginalized groups don't "overcompensate in achievement-related domains", and I don't see what mechanism would make LGBT people be any different. A significant difference is that for the LGBT people, revealing their marginalized status is a choice. A Black kid can't pretend to be white, but a gay kid can pretend to be straight (or their birth gender). Adults can as well, but being able to get an education in the in group seems like a significant difference. I doubt it's emotionally healthy to do so, but neither is getting discriminated against. Even having the option between a rock and a hard place might give people a sense of control over their lives that they lack if their only option is getting discriminated against. Familial achievement might also be related. Many marginalized groups have highly heritable traits, like skin tone or facial features. Their families have been discriminated against for generations. Many LGBT people are born into non-marginalized families, so the median familial income might be higher. There might be data on this, but I couldn't find it easily, so I could be totally off base. I'm not proposing that's the reasoning behind this effect, just pointing out there is a mechanism by which there would be a reasonable difference. Neither of those would account for the difference in college graduation rates for lesbians vs gay men, though.