Challenging the 1% myth U.S. survey misinterpreted, used as anti-gay propaganda One of the most common and harmful myths about lesbians and gays is that there aren't very many of us. Unfortunately, widespread misinterpretation of a U.S. research study earlier this year has helped to reinforce this myth. Results from the National Survey of Men were reported in the March/April issue of Family Planning Perspectives. The survey was conducted two years ago with funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Its purpose was to examine sexual behaviour and condom use among heterosexual males. In face-to-face interviews, only 2.3 per cent of the men surveyed acknowledged "any same-gender sexual activity." Only one per cent acknowledged "exclusively homosexual activity." This resulted in newspaper headlines claiming that gays make up only one or two per cent of the population. But it's a big mistake to assume the survey results mean only one or two per cent of the U.S. population is gay. "That's not what we said," says Koray Tanfer, a senior research scientist who worked on the study. "We said 2.3 per cent of men in these age groups admitted to having had" same-sex sexual activity "during the last ten years." "This was not done to count the number of gays in the United States. It was specifically done to look at risky behaviour among heterosexuals. If we had wanted to count gays, we would have done a totally different study." According to Tanfer, "It's common wisdom that people would tend to conceal their true identity rather than exaggerate it, so this would be an undercount rather than an overcount." The written report of the survey acknowledged that a number of the research methods used may have contributed to the low rate of same-gender sexual activity. Since respected sex researcher Alfred Kinsey released a comprehensive study of male sexual behaviour in 1948, many experts have believed that homosexuals make up roughly ten per cent of the population. The Kinsey Institute has subsequently repeated the study and confirmed the results. "Although it has no basis in fact, the 1% myth has been repeatedly used in an attempt to diminish our community," says EGALE board member Jim Oldham. "Sloppy reporting by journalists has allowed right-wing opponents of lesbian, bisexual and gay rights to use this misinformation in their propaganda campaigns. It's important that our community challenge anyone who tries to use these inaccurate statistics against us." Much of the information in this article appeared originally in The Washington Blade, April 23, 1993. "If we had wanted to count gays, we would have done a totally different survey." Koray Tanfer senior research scientist 450 words