“There will always be a small proportion that disapproves of being gay, Brussels sprouts and the Royal Family”

Is acceptance of homosexuality in British society stalling?

That is the claim from the University of Manchester after research into national attitudes towards homosexuality suggested that the increase in acceptance towards gay people might have slowed down.

But the findings are refuted by several leading members of the LGBT+ community in Bristol.

Crowds at Bristol Pride have grown every year, so why do researchers think acceptance of gay and lesbian people is stalling?

Dr Laura Watt and Professor Mark Elliot from the University of Manchester studied data from the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles to find out how people’s opinions towards same-sex relationships have changed since 1990.

The researchers argued that while attitudes became far more tolerant since 1990 since 2000 this trend significantly slowed down – suggesting Britain might see in this decade levels of support for same-sex couples stall rather than reaching blanket approval.

Linda Devo, co-organiser of the BAME LGBT+ group KIKI, says: “The research implies that there is a cap in people’s capacity to be tolerant to LGBT people and relationships. I would suggest that increased exposure of the heterosexual population to LGBTQ populations and time will continue to ‘normalise’ LGBTQ people in society’s eyes.

“It is interesting to note the decline in prejudice albeit small, in religious and BAME populations. Though they are small decreases, I believe it bears some promise and that as we continue to interact as LGBTQ individuals with religious organisations and people, making ourselves ever more visible, these figures will increase,” Devo added.

Watt and Elliot also observed huge differences in the attitudes of certain groups. In 2010, 58% of Black and South Asian 16 to 44-year-olds believed same-sex relationships were always wrong (down from 67% in 1990). In contrast, only 12% of white respondents in this age group held this view (down from 46%).

This gap is also reflected in religious views. 60% of 16 to 44-year-olds who attended religious services at least once a week viewed homosexuality as always wrong (down from 68% in 1990), compared with just 11% of those who didn’t identify as religious (down from 43%).

Cheryl Morgan, co-chair of Bristol’s LGBT History society OutStories says the research was too limited and “did not look at transphobic attitudes as well, because from what we see it the media it seems like the level of transphobia in society is increasing rapidly.”

But of the research, Morgan feels “there will always be a small proportion that disapproves of being gay, Brussels sprouts and the Royal Family”.

Figures released last year by Stonewall and YouGov found that one in five LGBT people have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity in the last 12 months and two in five trans-people have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity in the last 12 months.

Daryn Carter, director of Bristol Pride concurs: “We have certainly seen great progress in recent years with mainstream acceptance for lesbian and gay people but this is far from the case for members of the Trans, Bi and non-binary communities and further compounded for those whose identity is intersectional.

“In the last two years we have seen a national increase in LGBT+ hate crime and this sadly includes here in Bristol,” Carter says.

Dr. Anna Rutherford, founder Bristol Pride and director Indigo Network (which offers networking and social events for LBT+ women) says the group has seen the number of women of all ages coming to events reach well over 2,000 but agrees the trans-population are the group that requires most support.

“The trepidation and fear, particularly from the trans community, in coming forward shows that there is still work to do. We still have people approaching us late in life saying they wish they’d been brave enough to attend decades ago.” Overall, Rutherford says there has been “a huge shift in attitude both on the street, and amongst media and businesses since 2010.”

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