New Study on Coming Out Among Israelis

A new study on the gays and lesbians in Israel finds that gay men in the country take a year longer than lesbians to come out after they begin to question their sexual orientation.

According to Haaretz, "The first extensive profile of Israel's gay and lesbian community concludes that lesbians do not tell anyone about their sexual orientation, on average, for two and a half years after they begin doubting whether they are heterosexual, while gay men often remain in the closet longer -- about three and a half years. The comprehensive study was conducted by four researchers at Hoshen, an educational center for the gay community in Israel: Aylon Slater, Uri Ike, Inbal Katsaf and Shai Hertz."

The study was conducted with 617 individuals using an electronic questionnaire that examined 13 benchmarks in the development of sexual identity. Experts said the results were similar to that seen in American research.

Haaretz reports the study found, "Gay males, on average, begin doubting their heterosexuality earlier than lesbians -- at age 14.5 compared to age 18. In coming to terms with their sexual orientation, there is an even broader gap -- with gays on average reconciling with the fact at 17 years old, and lesbians, on average, at age 21."

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