Closet Cases: Study Places Kentucky Among Intolerant Places

A study recently published in the opinion pages of The New York Times attempted to identify the percentage of the American male population that is gay.

Seth Stephens-Davidovitz, an economics PhD from Harvard who wrote the piece, estimated that five percent of American men are predominantly attracted to other men.

Stephens-Davidovitz used surveys, social networks, pornographic searches, and dating sites to reach his conclusion. "While none of these data sources are ideal, they combine to tell a consistent story," he writes.

The study found that in less tolerant states, a higher percentage of gay men remain closeted and a higher number of wives search online for information on the possibility that their husbands may be gay.

Additionally, Stephens-Davidovitz determined that the states where the highest percentage of Craigslist postings seeking same-sex "casual encounters" are found in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Alabama.

"There is, in other words, a huge amount of secret suffering in the United States that can be directly attributed to intolerance of homosexuality," Stephens-Davidovitz writes.

Read the full story: The New York Times