BlackRain
06-16-2004, 04:57 PM
Just 1% of Canadians say they're homo******
Are there 320,000 gay people in the country? Or is it at least 1.6 million, or perhaps closer to 3.2 million?
The controversy over how many people are gay in Canada was stirred up again yesterday as the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey showed that 1 per cent of the population identified themselves as homo******. The gay community says the number is actually somewhere between 5 per cent and 10 per cent. (According to Statscan's most recent estimates, Canada's total population as of January, 2004, was 31.7 million.)
Statistics Canada looked at the ****** orientation of Canada for the first time in its history, surveying more than 83,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 59. It also found that another 0.7 per cent of the population considered themselves bi******.
"I'm happy that they're finally asking the question because I think one of the big problems we've had is our invisibility, and I think it's important to have more visibility," said Laurie Arron, director of advocacy for the gay-rights group Egale Canada.
At the same time, Mr. Arron contends that the numbers are much lower than what he's seen elsewhere.
"We expected that the first time it happened. When you ask somebody to reveal something in a survey for the first time, you're going to get underreporting," he said. "Over time, as the question gets repeated, we're going to see the number go up to where most studies indicate."
The figure from Statscan comes at a time when there's an increasing debate in the federal election campaign about whether gay people should be allowed to marry.
Statscan asked people whether they considered themselves hetero******, homo****** or bi******, rather than asking respondents whether they had ever had a ****** relationship with someone of the same ***.
Quebec reported the highest number of homo******s or bi******s at 2.3 per cent, followed by British Columbia, New Brunswick and Ontario.
Statscan also said that more younger people reported they were either homo****** or bi******. Two per cent of the 18-to-34 group self-reported as being homo****** or bi******, while 1.2 per cent of those between 45 and 59 said they were homo****** or bi******.
Vincent Dale, a senior analyst at Statscan, says the overall results may have been different depending on the question.
"We know from other surveys that if we had asked, 'Are your partners of the same *** or the opposite ***' the number probably would have been higher," Mr. Dale said.
The 10-per-cent figure usually cited by the gay community comes from research by Alfred Kinsey, who in the late 1940s and early 1950s found that one in 10 men were homo******.
When a number is attached to a gay community, ideological battles emerge, said Michael Botnick, a lecturer on sociology at the University of British Columbia.
"Clearly, from a right-wing perspective, they'd like to see the numbers lower," he said. "From the more libertarian perspective, they'd like to see the numbers more accurate, or higher. So nobody's going to be satisfied."
Derek Rogusky, vice-president of family policy for Focus on the Family Canada, said the Kinsey study has been challenged many times for its poor research. The Statscan data, he said, speak volumes about the issue of same-*** marriage.
"It's not a human-rights issue. It's a public policy issue. I think that when we're talking about changing something so fundamental to our society, as I believe marriage is, just for the sake of really such a small handful of individuals, I think it causes us to stop and pause and think about that," he said. "Is this really the direction that we want to go to appease a few people?"
But Mr. Arron said it's unfair to think that people don't deserve rights because their numbers aren't large enough. "I'm Jewish. And I think it would be wrong to have the Charter protection taken away from Jewish people just because they're smaller in number. The same goes for gay and lesbian Canadians," he said.
Mr. Arron said that by asking the question of ****** orientation in surveys, it reduces the stigma attached to being gay, lesbian or bi******.
"We need to have surveys like this so our communities can be accommodated," he said.
Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040616/GAY16/TPNational/Canada
Are there 320,000 gay people in the country? Or is it at least 1.6 million, or perhaps closer to 3.2 million?
The controversy over how many people are gay in Canada was stirred up again yesterday as the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey showed that 1 per cent of the population identified themselves as homo******. The gay community says the number is actually somewhere between 5 per cent and 10 per cent. (According to Statscan's most recent estimates, Canada's total population as of January, 2004, was 31.7 million.)
Statistics Canada looked at the ****** orientation of Canada for the first time in its history, surveying more than 83,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 59. It also found that another 0.7 per cent of the population considered themselves bi******.
"I'm happy that they're finally asking the question because I think one of the big problems we've had is our invisibility, and I think it's important to have more visibility," said Laurie Arron, director of advocacy for the gay-rights group Egale Canada.
At the same time, Mr. Arron contends that the numbers are much lower than what he's seen elsewhere.
"We expected that the first time it happened. When you ask somebody to reveal something in a survey for the first time, you're going to get underreporting," he said. "Over time, as the question gets repeated, we're going to see the number go up to where most studies indicate."
The figure from Statscan comes at a time when there's an increasing debate in the federal election campaign about whether gay people should be allowed to marry.
Statscan asked people whether they considered themselves hetero******, homo****** or bi******, rather than asking respondents whether they had ever had a ****** relationship with someone of the same ***.
Quebec reported the highest number of homo******s or bi******s at 2.3 per cent, followed by British Columbia, New Brunswick and Ontario.
Statscan also said that more younger people reported they were either homo****** or bi******. Two per cent of the 18-to-34 group self-reported as being homo****** or bi******, while 1.2 per cent of those between 45 and 59 said they were homo****** or bi******.
Vincent Dale, a senior analyst at Statscan, says the overall results may have been different depending on the question.
"We know from other surveys that if we had asked, 'Are your partners of the same *** or the opposite ***' the number probably would have been higher," Mr. Dale said.
The 10-per-cent figure usually cited by the gay community comes from research by Alfred Kinsey, who in the late 1940s and early 1950s found that one in 10 men were homo******.
When a number is attached to a gay community, ideological battles emerge, said Michael Botnick, a lecturer on sociology at the University of British Columbia.
"Clearly, from a right-wing perspective, they'd like to see the numbers lower," he said. "From the more libertarian perspective, they'd like to see the numbers more accurate, or higher. So nobody's going to be satisfied."
Derek Rogusky, vice-president of family policy for Focus on the Family Canada, said the Kinsey study has been challenged many times for its poor research. The Statscan data, he said, speak volumes about the issue of same-*** marriage.
"It's not a human-rights issue. It's a public policy issue. I think that when we're talking about changing something so fundamental to our society, as I believe marriage is, just for the sake of really such a small handful of individuals, I think it causes us to stop and pause and think about that," he said. "Is this really the direction that we want to go to appease a few people?"
But Mr. Arron said it's unfair to think that people don't deserve rights because their numbers aren't large enough. "I'm Jewish. And I think it would be wrong to have the Charter protection taken away from Jewish people just because they're smaller in number. The same goes for gay and lesbian Canadians," he said.
Mr. Arron said that by asking the question of ****** orientation in surveys, it reduces the stigma attached to being gay, lesbian or bi******.
"We need to have surveys like this so our communities can be accommodated," he said.
Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040616/GAY16/TPNational/Canada