Google searches for sexuality queries such as “Am I gay?” and “Am I lesbian?” have skyrocketed over the last two decades…
Google searches related to personal sexual orientation and gender identity have skyrocketed since 2004, according to new research from The Cultural Currents Institute. Questions like “am I gay?” or “am I lesbian?” have increased by 1,300 per cent over the last two decades. Other phrases such as “am I trans” and “how to come out,” as well as searches for terms like “nonbinary” also follow an upward trend in the same time frame.
The study suggested that states in the United States that lean more conservative are the “most closeted.” The state of Utah leads with more people Googling “am I gay?”, “am I lesbian?” and “am I trans?” than any other state. Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia and New Hampshire followed Utah in searches for “am I gay,” while Connecticut, Kentucky, Washington and Colorado followed it for searches for “am I lesbian.”
“The regional differences highlighted below are significant, offering a geographical landscape of self-questioning and discovery across America,” Cultural Currents Institute said. “One state in particular went against its branding. Utah, a state with traditionally conservative social values, surprisingly tops three out of five search term categories.”
“This might indicate a significant underlying questioning of identity among its internet users, possibly driven by the conflict between personal feelings and societal expectations.”
The Cultural Currents Institute also pointed out a “poignant” search term, with “how to come out” being Googled the most in traditionally conservative areas, including Mississippi and Kentucky, which it noted “could indicate a more challenging environment for self-disclosure of identity”.
The Google study follows several other reports and studies that have been released in the last few years which have all found that younger generations are far more likely to come out as LGBTQ+ than ever before.
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