Survey Tackles Common Misconceptions About the LGBT Community

Correction appended June 26, 8:45 a.m.

Gay men and women have more of a can-do attitude when it comes to DIY projects, according to new data from global market research firm YouGov, while their straight counterparts are more “meh.”

Though lesbian and straight women are on the same page when it comes to changing a light bulb (easy!), when it comes to assembling IKEA furniture 77% of lesbian women are confident in their skills, while only 48% of straight women are.

Ladies, however, aren’t alone when it comes to building “flat pack furniture” — only 58% of straight men are sure they can put together a Hemnes 8-chest drawer without issue, compared to 72% of gay men.

Though the survey hardly speaks for the entire LGBT community — only 1024 American self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual men and women were surveyed along with 969 heterosexual men and women — it does shed some light on common misconceptions about the community, particularly millennials.

Turns out, both LGBT and heterosexual young adults want to get married and have kids some day. In fact, gay and lesbian millennials were slightly more likely to say they wanted to have children in the future than their hetero counterparts — 43% compared to 40%. When it comes to marriage, 68% of heterosexual and 60% of LGBT millennials dream of a walk down the aisle. For the older crowd, the numbers fall to fewer than half.

One aging stereotype may still hold some truth, the survey suggests. For example, the survey found, lesbians and gays are more likely to have played softball and consider themselves “gym rats” than their heterosexual counterparts. About 52% of the lesbian women surveyed said they had played softball as children, compared to 22% of straight women.

The survey also found that gay men are more likely to spend more time in the gym than their heterosexual counterparts, with 24% of gay men considering themselves “gym rats” compared to 18% of straight men.

And there is one sour note from the report: About 73% of the LGBT community say they feel underrepresented in the media, with the vast majority noting that rich and beautiful people are over-represented on television in general.

The original version of this article incorrectly characterized a survey finding regarding groups that are overrepresented on television.