Gays and Lesbians…… are Faithful?
GAYS AND LESBIANS ARE FAITHFUL?
Infidelity is present every day, at any time, and everywhere, and people make mistakes notwithstanding their preferences. Some people see an easy out by being unfaithful and hoping not to be discovered.
Infidelities not only take away our peace and happiness, because in most cases are the cause of an ended relationship. Statistics paint the reap picture, and right now in this very moment, an infidelity is taking place.
Why are humans Unfaithful?
There are many theories as to why humans are unfaithful. Some mention that just the fact one is human we are by nature not sexually monogamous. Of all mammals, monogamy is only present in about 10% of the species. Birds, however, are monogamous in 90% of cases and have only one mate during their entire life. In the article written by Luis Villazon and published in the BBC’s science focus, we can see much more detail.
Psychologists say that infidelity can be traced to factors such as anxiety, depression, or narcissism. But it can also be from other experiences lived during infancy, in school, or even genetics. This is evidenced in the article by Paul DePompo and Misa Butsuhara published in Psychological Thought.
There are theories where attachment of couples has been explored. Unfortunately, most of these theories and studies have come out of subject matter involving heterosexual relationships.
Does this occur in same sex relationships?
Relationships among the LGBTQ+ community face many more difficulties from the start. This is because same sex relationships are still not fully accepted. Society is more and more open, but still has many people who would deny that love is love no matter its form.
Let’s look at the dating sites or applications, which always offer a window for infidelity. Dating sites are much more popular in the LGB community than others. The Pew Research Center in February 2020; published that while 3 in 10 heterosexual Adults in the US reported using these applications, 48% of LGB young adults between 19 to 29 years of age have used them.
Dating Apps. and Their Impact On Relationships
The study published in 2019 by Michael Rosenfeld and Sonia Hausen from Stanford University, together with Ruben Thomas of the University of New Mexico is worth looking at. It is about how online dating is replacing traditional methods of getting to amorous relationships. 65% of the couples that are formed in these applications, are of the same gender. To find out more, visit the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Volume 116, issue 36. According to the research, applications like Tinder have identified your gender in a better way to allow finding the “ideal partner”.
-2-
How many of the users are having relationships online without even considering whether the other already has a partner or not. According to a study published in 2020 by Sex and Psychology, reported that the number of couples that have had or have relationships with others not their “formal” partners, is 14% among the “Gays”, 6% among the “Lesbians”, 18% among the “Bi”, and 6% among the other sexual orientations.
The LGBTQ+ community is a fan of diversity. Whether sadly for some and a fortune for others, there isn´t a whole lot of data on the subject. But here we will present other data that is verified. It can be of help to pay more attention to your partner and avoid becoming part of the statistics. We will now concentrate only on the Gay and Lesbian groups.
Are Gay Men Less Faithful?
According to research conducted by LGBT HERO and written by Stuart Haggas in his article “Do Gay men Struggle to be faithful? he states “The latest FS survey of almost 1,000 readers asked about their thoughts and experiences with extra-curricular activities outside of a relationship. We found that 58% said that a partner has been unfaithful in a relationship, and 51% admitted that they’ve been unfaithful in their current relationship”.
Data indicates that 61% of those that participated in the study, would terminate their relationship if an infidelity is discovered. More alarming is that 58% of the men admitted having been unfaithful to their (men) partners, and 52% admitted to having been so in their current relationship. And worse, 61% that had contracted STDs did not tell their partner. Curiously 55% using a dating application consider it as infidelity. And 43% said that sharing sexual images was also; and 34% considers that sending private messages to another, is also infidelity.
How about Women?
There´s talk about relationships between women, with no mention of the rate of infidelity and its impact on formal relationships. Statistics are quite clear when reporting the resulting divorce rates. In a CBS report in the Netherlands on same sex marriage-divorce situations. Female same sex marriages are more likely to divorce than are Gay men marriages. In fact, women´s divorce rate is double that of Gay men; and almost double that of heterosexual divorces.
A CBS report stated that while “In 2005, 580 lesbian marriages were registered”; a decade later more than 30 percent had ended in divorce. Gay marriages are less likely to end in divorce. After ten years more than 15 percent of gay marriages had failed. The break-up rate for heterosexual marriages was 18 percent.
In her dissertation for a doctorate Degree of the Texas Women´s University, Tracey Dennel Christian-Cruz published results of her study on the subject. To make it short and simple, she suggests that between 20% and 60% of Lesbian marriages will suffer some form of extra marital affair.
Getting over an infidelity is more than painful. We should not forget that only each individual of the couple can decide how to address the situation. Most infidelities discovered, end up in a break-up. All crises are an opportunity to grow, to learn and to move forward.
-3-
Life goes on.
But getting to our subject matter; Infidelity is also quite prevalent in the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, we reiterate that infidelity is present every day, any time, an everywhere.