A book chapter coauthored by Ceylan Engin, Ladin Toplu, Wanjun Chen, Amanda K. Baumle & Dudley L. Poston Jr.

Ceylan Engin, Ladin Toplu, Wanjun Chen, Amanda K. Baumle & Dudley L. Poston Jr. 2025. "Socioeconomic Inequalities in the Lesbian and Gay Male Population" in International Handbook of the Demography of Poverty and Inequality, edited by Joachim Singelmann, Dudley L. Poston Jr. Switzerland: Springer Nature.

Abstract

According to a recent report of the Pew Research Center (2020), over the past four decades, Americans have become increasingly more accepting of homosexuality. The Pew report noted that the acceptance of homosexuality in the U.S. has increased from 46 percent in 1994 to 72 percent in 2019. The increasing acceptance of the lesbian and gay male communities has been accompanied by changes in public policies concerning sexual minorities, such as the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (Bostock v. Clayton County, 2020), the recognition of same-sex marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015), and the legalization of adoption by gay males and lesbians (Campaign for Southern Equality v. Mississippi Department of Human Services, 2016). However, we know little about whether the increases in both the societal tolerance of gay males and lesbians, as well as their legal and civil rights, have reshaped their economic status. An analysis of socioeconomic differences between sexual majorities and sexual minorities is needed.