Polygamy

[Doug Pensinger]

William  wrote:

>
> But the numbers I believe are the ones from serious scientific surveys
> Maru.
>

But the Wiki article isn't very conclusive is it?  It's prefaced with this:

Measuring the prevalence of various sexual
orientations<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_orientation>is
difficult because there is a lack of reliable
data <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reliable_data&action=edit>.
Problems gathering data include:

   - Survey data regarding stigmatized or deeply personal feelings or
   activities are often inaccurate. Participants often avoid answers which they
   feel society, the survey-takers, or they themselves dislike.
   - The research must select measure some characteristic that may or may
   not be defining of sexual orientation, and that may involve further testing
   problems. The class of people with same-sex desires may be larger than the
   class of people who act on those desires, which in turn may be larger than
   the class of people who self-identify as
gay/lesbian/bisexual.[1]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_sexual_orientation#_note-black>
   - In studies measuring sexual activity, respondents may have different
   ideas about what constitutes a "sexual act."
   - There are several different biological and psychosocial components
   to sex <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex> and
gender<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender>,
   and a given person may not cleanly fit into a particular category.


and concludes with this:

In general, surveys quoted by anti-gay activists tend to show figures nearer
1%, while surveys quoted by gay activists tend to show figures nearer 10%,
with a mean of 4-5% figure most often cited in mainstream media reports.

It is important to note, however, that these numbers are subject to many of
the pitfalls inherent in researching sensitive social issues. It is possible
that survey results may be biased by under-reporting, for instance. (See note
1 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_sexual_orientation#Footnote>.)
The frequent use of non-random
samples<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_sample>(white college
students) in many studies could also serve to skew the data.

In general, most research agrees that the number of people who have had
multiple same-gender sexual experiences is fewer than the number of people
who have had a single such experience, and that the number of people who
identify themselves as exclusively homosexual is fewer than the number of
people who have had multiple homosexual experiences.

In addition, major historical shifts can occur in reports of the prevalence
of homosexuality. For example, the
Hamburg<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburg>Institute for Sexual
Research conducted a survey over the sexual behavior of
young people in 1970, and repeated it in 1990. Whereas in 1970 18% of the
boys aged 16 and 17 reported to have had same-sex sexual experiences, the
number had dropped to 2% by 1990.
[2]<http://www.lsbk.ch/articles/gunter_schmidt.asp>
*"Ever since homosexuality became publicly argued to be an innate sexual
orientation, boys' fear of being seen as gay has, if anything,
increased,"*the director of the institute, Volkmar Sigusch, suggested
in a 1998 article
for a German medical journal. [3]<http://www.bvvp.de/artikel/jugendsex.html>

In 2005, as part of the statistical and financial measurements required to
implement the UK <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom>'s new Civil
Partnership Act <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Partnership_Act_2004>,
the British government's H.M. Treasury actuaries calculated that there are
3.6 million British people who may want to enter into a gay or lesbian civil
partnership arrangement. This is equal to around 6 percent of the UK
population.
I'm not convinced by any of the data.

Doug
lies, damned lies, statistics maru