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Study Says Only Two Thirds of Gen Z Is Straight

Gen Z is the gayest generation yet

A study has shown that the youngest generation is more likely to identify as something under the LGBT umbrella than any that has come before it.

The youngest generation is proving to be the most tolerant and the most fluid, as same-sex couples and numerous sexual identities are given a platform in newer media and information is becoming increasingly accessible.

Only 66 percent of young people today identify as exclusively heterosexual - which is the lowest of any generation up until this point, according to a study from Ipsos Mori.

Baby boomers prove to have the highest percentage, with 88 percent identifying as solely heterosexual, whereas that number drops to 85 percent with Gen X, and 71 percent among millennials, the study says.

With the rise of social media, younger generations find more opportunities to explore their sexualities and gender identities, considering that stories of people who identify in various ways are more accessible than ever before.

"In particular, this generation of young has grown up at a time when gender as a simple binary and fixed identity has been questioned much more widely - this is new, and will affect wider views of gender, sexuality and much broader aspects of identity," Hannah Shrimpton, one of the authors of the report, told the Daily Telegraph.

Shrimpton also said that there is "greater exposure to communications on the variety of lifestyles available to young people today through social technology."

Researchers have said that the younger generations are "being affected by more open and fluid attitudes."

The study has labeled Gen Z "the liberal generation" and finds that 10 percent of the generation regards prejudice toward the LGBT community as one of the most pressing issues in the world today, as compared to only 2 percent of Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers who believe the same.

Other studies published by Ipsos Mori suggest that over 70 percent of Gen Z is comfortable with homosexual relationships, as compared to the 43 percent of Baby Boomers.

Figures from other organizations confirm Ipsos Mori's suggestion that younger generations are more likely to either identify as LGBT or be accepting of the LGBT community, and that the percentage of the younger generation is more likely to do either continues to rise over time.

The most recent study conducted by the Office for National Statistics in Britain reports that 2 percent of 16-24-year-olds identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, with that number rising to 4 percent today.

The Ipsos Mori study also reports that young people are more likely to have a "less binary view of sexuality," which suggests that younger generations do not feel as strong a pressure to use the label "gay" or "straight" but are comfortable with viewing sexuality as a sliding scale that they can fall somewhere in the middle of

With popular figures such as Tessa Thompson, who came out as bi at the end of June, and Janelle Monae, who came out as pansexual earlier this year, young people have more popular figures in the media to look up who fall somewhere in between binaries when it comes to sexuality.

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Mary Grace Lewis