Ninth-Grade Girls Reporting as Gay or Bisexual Falls to 17% From 30%
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 8
Ninth-Grade Girls Reporting as Gay or Bisexual Falls to 17% From 30%
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 8
Summary
CDC data analyzed by San Diego State psychologist Jean Twenge show young teens were less likely to identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual in 2025 than a few years earlier.
Ninth-grade girls saw the sharpest drop: 17% identified as lesbian or bisexual last year, down from 30% in 2021.
Twenge described the shift as a "free fall" in self-identification among teens, highlighting the steep reversal from pandemic-era highs.
The findings come from Twenge's analysis of 2025 CDC survey data published on her Substack, Generation Tech.