The Diversity and Prevalence of Sexual Orientation Self-Labels in a New Zealand National Sample.
In this study, we asked participants to "describe their sexual orientation" in an open-ended measure of self-generated sexual orientation. The question was included as part of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (N = 18,261) 2013/2014 wave, a national probability survey conducted shortly after the first legal same-sex marriages in New Zealand. We present a two-level classification scheme to address questions about the prevalence of, and demographic differences between, sexual orientations. At the most detailed level of the coding scheme, 49 unique categories were generated by participant responses. Of those who responded with the following, significantly more were women: bisexual (2.1 % of women, compared to 1.5 % of men), bicurious (0.7 % of women, 0.4 % of men), and asexual (0.4 % of women and less than 0.1 % of men). However, significantly fewer women than men reported being lesbian or gay (1.8 % of women, compared to 3.5 % of men). Those openly identifying as bicurious, bisexual, or lesbian/gay were significantly younger than those with a heterosexual orientation. This study shows diversity in the terms used in self-generated sexual orientations, and provides up-to-date gender, age, and prevalence estimates for the New Zealand population. Finally, results reveal that a substantial minority of participants may not have understood the question about sexual orientation.
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand. lara.greaves@auckland.ac.nz.
Lara M
LM
Greaves
School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute, Griffith University, Mount Gravatt, QLD, Australia.|School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Fiona Kate
FK
Barlow
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Carol H J
CHJ
Lee
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Correna M
CM
Matika
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Weiyu
W
Wang
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Cinnamon-Jo
CJ
Lindsay
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Claudia J B
CJB
Case
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Nikhil K
NK
Sengupta
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Yanshu
Y
Huang
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Lucy J
LJ
Cowie
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Samantha
S
Stronge
Department of Psychology, California State University, Bakersfield, CA, USA.
Mary
M
Storey
Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA.
Lucy
L
De Souza
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Sam
S
Manuela
School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
Matthew D
MD
Hammond
School of Psychology, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
Petar
P
Milojev
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Carly S
CS
Townrow
Te Rōpū Whāriki, College of Health, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
Emerald
E
Muriwai
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Nicole
N
Satherley
School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
Gloria
G
Fraser
Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Tim
T
West-Newman
Department of Management and International Business, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Carla
C
Houkamau
School of Art History, Classics, and Religious Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
Joseph
J
Bulbulia
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Danny
D
Osborne
School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
Marc S
MS
Wilson
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Chris G
CG
Sibley
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D019529:Sexuality / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
Asexuality; Heteronormativity; Heterosexuality; Pansexuality; Sexual identity; Sexual orientation