Greg Owen

A new study from a market research firm in Austin, Texas reveals where in the U.S. the most people are questioning their sexuality.

The unlikely answer is ruby red, religiously conservative Utah, a finding that earns the Mormon enclave the title “most closeted” among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

This year, the state has become an epicenter of Republican-fueled anti-LGBTQ+ vitriol. 

“The evolution of social attitudes around sexual orientation and gender identity over the last two decades has been profound,” Cultural Currents Institute writes in a memo accompanying the study, which examined Google Trends data from 2004 to 2023.

The deep dive uncovered “a staggering 1300% increase in specific searches that may indicate that a user is questioning their sexual identity.”

CCI mined data for five search terms: “am I gay,” “am I lesbian,” “am I trans,” “how to come out,” and “nonbinary,” finding a significant upward trend among all the terms, with the results in some states more pronounced than others.

The top five states for “am I gay” were Utah, Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia, and New Hampshire.

Utah, a red state with the country’s largest Mormon population, topped the search list for three of the terms: “am I gay,” “am I lesbian,” and “am I trans.”

The state’s top spots “might indicate a significant underlying questioning of identity among its internet users,” writes CCI, “possibly driven by the conflict between personal feelings and societal expectations.”

The firm describes this tension as “common” in Utah, where recent data revealed a surge in searches for “VPN,” an internet workaround employed after the website PornHub was blocked in the state.

Total search volume for the five terms combined shows a remarkable jump in the last two years, coinciding with the far-right’s campaign targeting the LGBTQ+ community with legislative bans on gender-affirming care, drag performance and other discriminatory measures, and efforts of groups like Moms for Liberty, LibsofTikTok and Gays Against Groomers directed at school boards, libraries and local governments.

Utah was the first state to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth in 2023. The law is on hold pending a court challenge.

The top five states for the search term “am I lesbian” were Utah, Connecticut, Kentucky, Washington, and Colorado.

“Am I trans,” was most popular in Utah, Kentucky, Colorado, Michigan, and Washington.

A collection of five deep red states topped the list for the search term “how to come out,” including Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky, a result that “could indicate a more challenging environment for self-disclosure of identity,” according to the study authors.

The search for “nonbinary” yielded a broader ideological mix of states, including Vermont, Oregon, Maine, Montana, and Washington.

In her first State of the State address, New York Governor Kathy Hochul made history with a commitment to direct state resources to help fund housing for older New Yorkers.

Hochul directed New York State’s Homes and Community Renewal agency (HCR) to provide funding specifically for affordable housing projects that are affirming for New Yorkers among the state’s 800,000+ older LGBTQ+ population.

Only two housing developments in New York serve the community: Stonewall House in Brooklyn and Crotona Pride House in the Bronx. Those projects were developed and funded by SAGE, the LGBTQ+ elders advocacy group, along with BFC Partners and HELP USA.

The two developments are models for reducing housing insecurity and providing community support, dramatically improving the lives of low-to-moderate income and formerly unhoused older New Yorkers.   

The commitment by Hochul follows policy recommendations presented by SAGE and AARP in their 2021 report “Disrupting Disparities: Solutions for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers 50+.” The report illustrated that many older New Yorkers face structural disparities, including social isolation, higher rates of poverty, and challenges finding and affording housing.

Older people face rampant discrimination when seeking a place to live: 34% of LGBTQ older people and 54% of transgender and gender nonconforming elders fear having to deny their identity to land adequate housing. A ten-state study from the Equal Rights Center found 48% of same-sex couples experienced overt discrimination in the housing application process compared to their different-sex partnered peers.

While the demand for affirming housing is high — 90% of older LGBTQ+ Americans are extremely, very, or somewhat interested in obtaining it — supply is low: only 13 states and Washington, DC, have housing developments targeting older LGBTQ+ Americans. 

By 2030, over 70 million people will be age 65+, with about 7 million of those part of the community. That subset already faces a higher poverty and homelessness rate even before housing insecurity is factored in.

Officials at SAGE see this as a good start.

“I am thrilled that Governor Hochul and her administration are committed to expanding equitable access to housing for New York’s LGBTQ+ elders,” said SAGE CEO Michael Adams. “LGBTQ+ elders of color, transgender and non-binary elders face the highest levels of financial insecurity, and we know first-hand that LGBTQ+ friendly elder housing is vital in improving their lives.”

“The communities created at Stonewall House and Crotona Pride House,” added Adams, “are proof that this kind of housing improves the quality of life of residents. With the critical support of the Governor, New York will be providing crucial resources to elders so they can age with the dignity and support they deserve.”  

Among the affirming housing options across the U.S. are The John C. Anderson Apartments in Philadelphia, Town Square Apartments in Chicago, and Triangle Square in Los Angeles.

In Washington, a new communal residence called Mary’s House for Older Adults is scheduled to break ground in March, while a new project in Detroit, Raymond E. Shepherd House, just received some creative financing in the form of a brownfield grant from the Michigan Department of Environment.

And in California, a new complex in Sacramento is the latest addition to the state’s affirming housing projects. Lavender House, with 53 units in the midtown neighborhood of the state capital, was developed and is operated by the nonprofit Mutual Housing California. There were over 600 requests for applications, with tenants chosen by lottery. 

The FBI has joined the investigation of violent threats against three LGBTQ+ bars in the Grove neighborhood of St. Louis, and a fourth threat against a children’s play space in the city that was scheduled to host a drag queen story hour. NBC affiliate KMOV reported the addition of federal law enforcement to the probe.

Saturday afternoon, around 4 pm, at least two gay bars in the Grove entertainment district in the city received calls from an individual threatening violence at the establishments. Three bars in the area, Prism STL, Just John, and Rehab, all received calls threatening violence that night.

“The caller off the bat started talking about how they were the Joker, and they were going to blow up the bar, send bombs and shoot up everybody,” Prism bartender Jordan Cox told the Riverfront Times. Cox said it sounded like at least two other people were on the line with the caller.

Just John bar owner John Arnold said he received a voice mail about the same time.

“It said they were going to come in at 3 o’clock in the morning and shoot the place up,” Arnold says. “And that they were tired of us ‘faggots.’”

The same voicemail mentioned a Just John staffer by name, whom the caller said he liked. “They told us to make sure he wasn’t there,” said Arnold.

KMOV reported the FBI is also investigating threats against a children’s play space in the South City area called Urban Fort. The owner said they’ve received violent threats and have been forced to increase security and change the date, time, and location of a scheduled story time hour featuring a drag performer.

“Apparently, the federal government is involved at this point, as well,” Prism owner Sean Abernathy told the Riverfront Times. He says that around midnight on Saturday, St. Louis police showed up with members of law enforcement who looked like they worked for agencies other than St. Louis police.

Since September, the FBI has been on heightened alert for violence directed at LGBTQ+ plus establishments, groups, and events. A threat assessment distributed in the weeks before the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs in November warned that hate crime perpetrators and violent domestic extremists may increase threats against the LGBTQ+ community “due to their reactions to legislative or socio-political changes related to LGBTQ+ topics, and conspiracy theories involving the LGBTQ+ community.”

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement, “The investigations remain ongoing.”

“It’s frustrating,” Prism owner Abernathy told KMOV, “because we’re just people trying to be ourselves, trying to enjoy our lives. We’re not out to hurt anybody, but it feels like it’s a lot of people out to hurt us.”

A high school in Stoughton, Massachusetts was the site of a protest Tuesday night over the school’s ban on what it calls “political” flags and posters in classrooms.

The action was organized by Stoughton High School senior Olivia Tran, who was suspended last week for leading a student demonstration against the policy during class hours. Tran draped a large Pride flag outside the school’s administration office in that protest and the group refused to return to class.

Tuesday’s demonstration took place in and outside a previously scheduled school committee meeting, where Tran encouraged students and residents of the school district to “advocate for the disenfranchised.”

School Superintendent Thomas Raab instituted the speech policy in September, when he informed teachers that classrooms were to be considered “neutral” spaces. Flags with “political” messages, including Pride and Black Lives Matter flags, would be banned, and teachers who failed to comply would be subject to “disciplinary action.”

Three teachers at the school initially balked at the request and were called to the principal’s office, according to local news outlet The Enterprise. After receiving a letter threatening “further disciplinary action,” each complied.

The ban originally applied only to flags. Now all material deemed “political” is forbidden.

Teachers were advised not to discuss the policy with students, according to staff, who spoke anonymously for fear of reprisal.

Dozens of students and parents turned out for the demonstration and meeting.

Superintendent Raab addressed the group before public comment.

“It is important to have allies at school,” he said. “We have a fully trained, educated staff and we have provided teachers with lanyards and progressive ally stickers.”

“But we must keep classrooms neutral,” he said. “We can’t pick and choose which flags are appropriate or not.”

While committee members generally agreed with the superintendent’s policy, they faulted Raab for a lack of communication.

“Thank you for acknowledging the community’s concerns and for being a part of discussions with us,” committee chair Sandra Groppi told Raab. “It is important, when implementing new policies, to do things slowly and take everything into consideration.”

Vice-chair Katie Pina-Enokian added: “This community is very strong, so it would’ve been important to discuss before.”

Public comment included a rabbi who cited Black Lives Matter and Antifa protests as reasons to ban political speech in classrooms and a local parent who advocated for the American flag: “It’s for everyone.”

Olivia Tran, who spoke with her mother by her side, was cheered on by fellow students.

“I am bisexual, and I am an Asian American girl,” Tran said.

“There is no ‘neutral.’ Give us the justice we deserve.”