If you're a millennial, we're willing to bet that you know at least one person who isn't straight, and probably someone who doesn't identify strictly in the gender binary, too.
Yet, new research from GLAAD finds that millennials are actually less likely to know someone who identifies as gay or as a lesbian than the generations before them. The disconnect is easily explained away, though, by the report's other findings.
GLAAD's 2017 Accelerating Acceptance report found that 20% of millennials aren't straight, but that doesn't mean that they identify as gay or as a lesbian. A majority of millennials actually fall somewhere else on the spectrum. They may identify as sexually fluid or as queer or bisexual or pansexual or one of many, many terms that mean they are sexually attracted to more than one gender.
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The generation is more gender fluid as well, with 12% of millennials identifying as transgender or gender non-conforming, according to the report. There could be many reasons for this change, among them the fact that people may feel safer to openly identify as LGBTQ now than in previous generations.
Still, the progress we've made in rights for the LGBTQ community is threatened by Trump's administration. We've already seen some of these rights taken away, when POTUS lifted protections for transgender students in school bathrooms. And that 20% of millennials who identify within the community won't even be counted on the 2020 census.
“As the administration begins to fulfill its pledges to move the country backwards, many are concerned about progress made in recent years for the LGBTQ community,” Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO, said in a statement shared with Refinery29.
Still, the report points to a brighter future for LGBTQ people, one in which queer people and the people who grew up with us will be making important decisions to protect our rights.
“This report shows a remarkable new era of understanding and acceptance among young people – an inspiring indication of the future," Ellis said. "Though laws can be unwritten, hearts and minds in America have been changed for the better – and that is a reality less easily unraveled.”