Thereisnoconcretedataonhowmanygaysthereareintheworld.Atonepoint，theKinseyInstituteforsexualitystudiesintheUnitedStatessuggestedthatgaysandlesbiansmakeuptenpercentofanygivenpopulation.StudiesconductedtodeterminethenumberofgaysandlesbiansintheUnitedStatesandGreatBritainhavefounddifferentresultsdependingonhowtheterm“homosexuality”wasdefined.Itisalsoverydifficulttocountthenumberofgaysandlesbiansinsomeplacesbecausetheymaynotbeopenabouttheirsexualorientation.Arecentstudybyoneorganizationbaseditsnumbersofthe2000UnitedStatesCensusandvoterregistrationinformationforelections.TheorganizationfoundthatgaysandlesbianscompriseapproximatelyfivepercentoftheUnitedStatespopulationoraround10.5millionpeople.
Itisgenerallyknownthathomosexualshaveexistedthroughouthistoryinnearlyeverysociety.Whilesomenationsmaydenytheexistenceofgaysandlesbiansintheirpopulations，mostresearchersbelievethatthisishighlyunlikely.
6.WhatisthedifferencebetweenthetermsLGBT，gay，lesbian，homosexualandqueer？
TheacronymLGBTrefersto“Lesbian，Gay，Bisexual，andTransgender”.Thetermhomosexualisamoretechnicalterm，andsomebelievethatitcarriesnegativeconnotations.Forthisreason，manyprefernottobecalled“homosexuals”.Theword“gay”cansometimesbeusedtorefertoonlyhomosexualmales，butithasalsobeenusedtorefermorebroadlytobothhomosexualmenandwomen.Theterm“Lesbian”refersexclusivelytohomosexualwomen.Theterm“queer”hasabroadermeaning，includingtransgenderandbisexualindividuals，andisusedtorefertobothmenandwomen.Theterm“queer”，however，maybeinsultingtosomegaysandlesbians.Itisatermthathasbeenandisstillusedinaderogatorymanner.Despitethis，somegaysandlesbiansnowusethetermasasymbolofprideintheirsexualorientation.
7.Howdoyouknowyouaregay？
Despitestereotypesandprejudices，therearenosignsormannerismsthateasilyidentifyapersonasbeinggay.Agaymanisnotnecessarilyeffeminate，andalesbiandoesnotnecessarilydisplayso-calledmasculinecharacteristics.Theywillnotwearcertainclothesorbehaveincertainways.Forthesereasons，anindividual’ssexualorientationismostofteninvisibletothegeneralpublic.
Apersonisgayifhe/sheissexuallyattractedtomembersofthesamesex.However，itisoftenverydifficultforpeopletoaddress，identify，andcategorizetheirsexualfeelings.
Somemaynotknowandacknowledgethattheyaregayeveniftheydofindthemselvessexuallyattractedtomembersoftheirsex.Manypeoplebegintofeelattractiontomembersofthesamesexduringadolescence，butmaynotidentifyasgayuntilyearslater.Oftenbecauseofintensesocialpressuretobeheterosexual，manypeoplewhohavehomosexualtendenciesmaynotidentifythemselvesasgayuntilaftermarriage，andmanyneverdoatall.
8.Whatis“comingout”？
“Comingout”istheprocessofidentifyingoneselfasagayman，lesbian，orbisexual.Besidestellingothers，eitherallatonceorgradually，anothersignificantpartofcomingoutisanindividual’srecognitionofhisorherownsexualorientation.“Comingout”canhappenatanytime，andmanypeopledonotcomeoutuntilmuchlaterinlife.Itis，however，veryimportantforgaysandlesbianstocomeoutbecauseithelpsthemtoaccepttheirownidentityandhelpstheirfriendsandrelativestounderstandthatgaymenandwomenincludethosenormal，happy，andhealthyindividualsthattheyassociatewithonadailybasis.“Comingout”canbeadifficultprocessforanindividual，anditisimportantthattheirfriendsandfamilyprovidesupportduringthattime.
9.Ishomosexualityadisease？
No，homosexualityisnolongerregularlyconsideredadisease.TheAmericanPsychiatricAssociationremovedhomosexualityfromthefourtheditionDiagnosticandStatisticalManualofMentalDisorders.MostpeopleintheUnitedStatesdonotviewhomosexualityasadiseaseatallanymore，althoughtheymayhaveinthepast.Othercountries，suchastheUnitedKingdom，andInternationalorganizations，suchastheWorldHealthOrganizationoftheUnitedNations，havedeclassifiedhomosexualityasamentalillnessaswell.
10.Istransgenderadisease？
Transgenderindividualsarestillconsideredtosufferfromamentalconditionknownas“genderidentitydisorder.”ThisclassificationislistedinthemostrecentversionoftheDiagnosticandStatisticalManualofMentalDisorders.Manydoctors，scholars，andotheractivistswouldliketoseethedefinitionofgenderidentitydisorderremovedfromtheManualbecauseoftheunnecessarystigmathatitattachestotransgenderindividuals.
11.Whatcauseshomosexuality？
Thecauseofanindividual’sisgenerallyunknown.Althoughsomebelievehomosexualitytobeachoice，mostbelieveittobeaproductofanindividual’sgeneticmakeup，upbringingandenvironmentalinfluences，orsomecombinationofthetwo.Whilethereismoreandstrongerevidencethathomosexualityisageneticphenomenon，thisevidenceisnotyetabsolutelyconclusive.Mostpeoplenowunderstandthathomosexualityisneitheracontagiousdiseasenorsomethingthatcanbeconsciouslytaughttoanotherperson.However，manynowagreethat，regardlessofwhetherhomosexualityisaproductofenvironmentorgenetics，homosexualsshouldbetreatedwithdignityandrespectandnotsubjecttopersecutionordiscrimination.
12.Canyouchoosetobegay？
No.One’ssexualorientationisnotaconsciouschoice；onecannotanddoesnotchoosetobegayanymorethanstraightpeoplecanchoosetobestraight.Peoplecan，however，choosenottoactontheirsexualfeelingsordenytheirsexualorientation.Still，itisdifficult，ifnotimpossible，foragaypersontohaveahappy，fulfillinglifeifheorshedeniestheirtruefeelings.
13.Cantherapychangehomosexuality？