Rich People Over-Represented in The Media: 40% Of Heterosexual Americans Find Too Many Gay Men

NEW YORK, June 23, 2014   -- According to YouGov's LGBT Omnibus research results LGBT responders find the media overly represented by beautiful, rich people.  Four in ten (40%) heterosexual Americans think there are too many gay men and lesbian women (34%) in the media.    
 
As well as comparing attitudes to media representation, marriage and morality we took a look at prevailing myths.  Although men gay and heterosexual men are more confident with a tire change lesbian women are best with a flat pack.  77% of lesbian women are confident building IKEA style furniture compared to 58% of heterosexual men.
YouGov surveyed 1024 LGB and 969 heterosexual adults between 6th - 10th June 2014 and looking at Marriage, Media, Myths and Morality.  Full survey results can be accessed here:http://research.yougov.com/news/2014/06/02/americans-would-support-right-be-forgotten/

In the Media We asked both groups how well the media portrays "…people like you - people you identify with in terms of age, sex, race, sexual orientation etc." Three quarters (73%) of the LGBT community feels under-represented compared to 62% of heterosexuals. LGBT responders felt that there are too many of the following segments in the media:
  • Attractive (72%)
  • Rich (66%)
  • Skinny (42%)
  • White (43%)
  • Young (38%)
Although around half of heterosexuals think there are too many attractive (56%), rich (49%) people in the media, there was also a much broader range of categories where a significant number of heterosexual responders felt there was over-representation. The heterosexual Americans thought there were too many:  
  • Gay men (40%)
  • Lesbian women (34%)
  • Black people (25%)
  • White people (20%)
  • Hispanic people (18%)
10% of the LGBT community thought there were too many gay men in the media.     

Myth Busters
While it may be dubious as to where some myths about lesbian and gay people come from, there seems to be more than a grain of truth to some of the stereotypes about the LGBT community.
Sports:  Lesbian women were indeed more likely to play softball as children – 52% compared to 22% of heterosexual women. They were also more likely to have played basketball (43% compared with 15% of heterosexual women). Gay men were more likely to have participated in swimming and diving (28%) than the heterosexual men (26%). Gay men are also more likely to be gym rats  (24% compared to 18%).  
DIY:     Lesbian women really are good at DIY (or think they are) but men are better with tire changes. Three quarters (75%) of heterosexual men can change a tire, compared to 30% of heterosexual women, 74% of gay men and 61% of lesbian women. 77% of lesbian women are confident of their abilities with IKEA furniture and an Allen key, compared to 48% of heterosexual women and 58% of heterosexual men.  Gay men are pretty handy too with 72% claiming competence with a flat pack.   
U-Haul Lesbians:      The myth of lesbian women tacking along their U-Hauls to move in after the second date appears to have been busted. 10% of heterosexual adults moved in with their spouse after fewer than 4 weeks compared with only 3% of lesbian women.  A quarter of both heterosexuals (25%) and lesbians (24%) waited more than 5 years before moving in with their most recent partner.      

Marriage and Children
Fewer than half (45%) of heterosexual adults believe that gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry in the US, compared with double the proportion of LGBT people (90%). 93% of LGBT Americans believe that same sex couples should be allowed to parent and raise children; only 49% of heterosexuals agree.  
Far more heterosexuals (62%) already have children compared to 35% of LGBT people, but similar numbers of younger people in both groups would like to have children in the future. 43% of LGBT Millennials who do not currently have children would like to have them one day, compared to 40% of younger heterosexuals.  
Lesbian, gay and bisexual relationships seem to be nearly as long-lived as heterosexual relationships.  79% of heterosexual people in relationships have been in them for more than 5 years compared to 76% of LGBT relationships.      

About YouGov YouGov is an international full-service research and consulting company, which has pioneered the use of technology to collect higher quality, in-depth data for companies, governments, and institutions so that they can better serve the people that sustain them.   www.research.yougov.com  

Notes on Method
LGBT Survey: Total sample size was 1024 LGB adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 6th - 10th June 2014.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US LGB adults (aged 18+).
Heterosexual survey: Total sample size was 969 heterosexual adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 6th - 9th June 2014.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US heterosexual adults (aged 18+).  

Media Contact: Jenny Hall, YouGov, 212 724 3040, jenny.hall@yougov.com

SOURCE YouGov

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