Friday, March 20, 2009

We are Not as Fab as You think


The myth that gays have money to burn, is really a myth.

The truth was revealed in a study done by the Williams Institute at the UCLA. They found that lesbian and gay couples are more likely to be living in poverty than other couples.

The analysis found that 7 percent of lesbian couples are living below the poverty line, compared to 4 percent of gay male couples and 5 percent of opposite-sex couples. The study also found that after “adjusting for a range of family characteristics that help explain poverty,” same-sex couples are “significantly” more likely to be poor than opposite-sex married couples.

About 24 percent of lesbians and bisexual women are poor, compared to 19 percent of straight women, the study says. About 15 percent of gay and bisexual men are living in poverty, a rate that’s akin to the 13 percent of straight men who are poor, the report says.
“The myth of gay and lesbian affluence is just that — a myth,” the report says. “Lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals are as likely to be poor as are heterosexuals.”

The report also revealed a number of other findings related to poverty and gay couples:


• Children of gay couples are living in poverty at a rate that is twice as much as the children of straight married couples;

• Black people in same-sex relationships are gay couples who live in rural areas are much more likely to be poor than white or urban same-sex couples;

• Gay couples are more likely than straight couples to receive government support intended for low-income families.


So don't fooled by the Prada glasses, the True Religion Jeans or the Circuit Party trips...hopefully these folks are saving money. I know I have to for my Louis Vuitton obsession.

3 comments:

Eric Arvin said...

I'm glad I'm not the only struggling gay man out there.

Allan S. said...

I'm not really buying this V. First of all I think everybody is hurtin' out there. I also think that a lot of the high life you see out there in both straight and glbt folks is being done on credit cards.

I also have to wonder if part of this study has an agenda that is biased against glbt people. The first and third bullet point in this post would be so used by anti-gay groups.

I don't know. My spidey sense is tingling.

Prince Todd said...

I agree with Allan on this one. Gays are naturally going to have more disposable income seeing as the bulk of us aren't going to have children.
It only makes sense. Yeah, I don't really agree with the study at all to be honest.

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Viktor is a small town southern boy living in Los Angeles. You can find him on Twitter, writing about pop culture, politics, and comics. He’s the creator of the graphic novel StrangeLore and currently getting back into screenwriting.