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Researchers from Alliant International University in San Francisco have revealed that couples (of both the gay and straight varieties) in the new century are more monogamous than couples in the 70s. Details follow.
The new study compiles information from 6,684 couples (6,082 in 1975 and 782 in 2000) to find that the percentage of men in gay relationships who say they've engaged in infidelity has dropped 24 percent since 1975.
USA Today breaks down the numbers:
Although the most recent data are from 2000, Green says it allowed for a direct comparison because the questions posed were the same used in 1975.
The percentage of heterosexual men who reported having sex with someone other than their wife dropped to 10% in 2000 from 28% in 1975; among married women, it declined to 14% from 23%. Among gay men, the percentage who cheated on a partner they lived with dropped to 59% from 83%; for lesbians it declined to 8% from 28%. Half the gays and lesbians in the study were in civil unions, half were living together in committed relationships, the researchers say.
Researchers involved in the study believe two major cultural shifts led to their findings:
1.) Increased awareness of STDs (especially HIV) have created a fear of riskier sex lives
2.) Increased acceptance of same-sex relationships has a direct correlation with increased monogamy
In the wake of the study, published this month in Family Process, Emily Hecht-McGowan of Family Equality Council reflects on the implication of the research. "As public opinion has shifted about gay people and the LGBT community overall, I think same-sex couples are more comfortable living openly in their communities and building families,"
Are you surprised by the results? Will "open" gay relationships become even more rare as marriage equality becomes increasingly legal across the world?
(Source: USA Today; Image source)
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