- NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
- Young women are much more likely than are older women to say they're
homosexual or bisexual, a time trend not seen among men, according to an
Australian study.
-
- The findings are similar to those from studies in the
U.S. and Great Britain, suggesting that at least in certain countries,
social changes are influencing women's reports of sexual orientation.
-
- The new study found that among more than 7,400 adults
in one Australian city, women in their 20s were far more likely to say
they were homosexual or bisexual than those 20 to 40 years older.
-
- Among women ages 20 to 24, researchers found that 4.5
percent reported a same-sex orientation compared with 2.7 percent of those
ages 40 to 44, and less than 1 percent of women in their early 60s.
-
- Older men were also less likely than younger ones to
say they were gay or bisexual, but statistically the difference was not
strong, the authors report in the November/December issue of the journal
Gerontology.
-
- Exactly why more women are reporting same-sex orientation
is "a matter for speculation," Dr. Anthony F. Jorm, the study's
lead author, told Reuters Health.
-
- According to Jorm, who directs the Center for Mental
Health Research at Australian National University in Canberra, some researchers
have proposed that women are more "fluid" in their sexual orientation
than men. This means they may be less locked into their preference for
one gender.
-
- If this is the case, Jorm explained, women may have been
more influenced by social changes in recent decades, including growing
tolerance of same-sex relationships.
-
- Jorm noted that he and his colleagues did not set out
to study how reports of sexual orientation have changed over time. The
current report grew out of a study of anxiety, depression and suicidal
thoughts among gay, lesbian and bisexual adults. During this study the
researchers noticed age-group differences in sexual orientation. Recent
U.S. and UK surveys have also found such a trend among women.
-
- "There is enough evidence now," Jorm said,
"that we have to consider that there really has been a change, at
least in developed English-speaking countries."
-
- SOURCE: Gerontology, November/December 2003.
-
-
-
- Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance
thereon.
|
