Nine in ten young LGBTQ+ Britons say there have been queer people in their personal lives as teenagers and onwards, and a similar number were aware of LGBTQ+ public figures as well
Many older LGBTQ+ public figures have spoken out about the difficulties they faced growing up at a time where they did not know anyone else like them. TV presenter Graham Norton, for instance, has said “I was gay at a time when people weren’t and I didn’t know anybody else who was, so that makes you slightly different.”
The results of a new YouGov study show that few young LGBTQ+ Britons face a similar experience any more. Our survey shows that 90% of young LGBTQ+ Britons aged 16-25 say they had other queer people in their personal life from their teenage years onwards – only 8% say they have had no friends, family, fellow pupils or other figures they came into contact with on a regular basis who were also LGBTQ+.
Of those who did have other queer people in their lives, the large majority (88%) say it has been important to them to have such figures around, including 54% who say it was “very important”.
Visible representation is not just about having people from the same group as you in your personal sphere, but also about seeing them represented in public life.
Again, we find that the vast majority of young LGBTQ+ Britons (91%) have been aware of queer public figures from their teenage years onwards, and again the overwhelming majority of those say it has been important to them that these figures have been visible (88%).
But which queer public figures are most likely to have made their mark on young LGBTQ+ Britons? We asked those who said that they were aware of LGBTQ+ celebrities growing up to tell us which celebrities specifically made a positive impression on them as a teenager, in terms of making them feel comfortable with their sexuality and/or that they are not the only person who is like them. (People answered in their own words, rather than picking figures from a list)
The total list of celebrities mentioned is long and widely varied, but the most commonly mentioned queer public figure who left a positive impression on young LGBTQ+ Britons is bisexual singer and actress Lady Gaga, who was named by one in twenty (5%).
Gay social media duo Daniel Howell and Phil Lester are also among the most frequently mentioned, with 5% citing the former and 4% the latter.
Also prominent has been gay diver Tom Daley, mentioned by 5%.
The top five most commonly cited queer public figures that young LGBTQ+ Britons say helped them is rounded out by transgender actor Elliot Page, at 3%.
What is clear from the results is that the rise of social media has had a marked impact on visible representation. The majority of young LGBTQ+ Britons (55%) say that it has felt to them like there are “lots” of prominent queer people on social media, compared to only 23% who say so about queer people in the public eye in general, and fewer still in areas like TV (10%), movies (7%) and sport (2%).
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Photo: Getty
