===Terminology===
Homosexuality is sometimes also defined in terms of an attraction, preference, orientation, or [[sexual identity|identity]]. The term "orientation" is particularly favored by those who are promoting public acceptance of homosexuality.<ref>"Today a person is often said to have a homosexual or a heterosexual orientation, a description intended to defuse some of the long-standing sentiment among many [[Western World|Westerners]] that homosexuality is immoral or [[Pathology|pathological]]." Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., 2001-2005 [http://www.bartleby.com/65/ho/homosexu.html]</ref>
===Polling===
An October 2012 Gallup poll provided unprecedented demographic information about those who identify as LGBT, arriving at the conclusion that 3.4% of all U.S. adults identify as LGBT.<ref name=gallup>{{cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/158066/special-report-adults-identify-lgbt.aspx |title=Special Report: 3.4% of U.S. Adults Identify as LGBT |last1=Gates |first1=Gary J. |last2=Newport |first2=Frank |date=2012-10-18 |website=[[Gallup]] |publisher= |accessdate=2015-01-13}}</ref> The study is the nation's largest in counting LGBT.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gallup-survey-claims-34-percent-in-us-are-lgbt |title=Gallup survey claims 3.4 percent in U.S. are LGBT |last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date=2012-10-18 |website=[[CBS News]] |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |accessdate=2015-01-13}}<br>{{cite web |url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/18/adults-lesbian-gay-bisexual/1642203 |title=New survey: 3.4% of U.S. adults are LGBT |last1=Jayson |first1=Sharon |last2= |first2= |date=2012-10-19 |website=[[USA Today]] |publisher= |accessdate=2015-01-13}}</ref> Such polling is a strong evidence that homosexuality is not genetic, because if it were genetic then it should not vary by age and region.
===Age/Gender===
Gallup found that those 18-29 are twice as likely as those 30-49 to identify as LGBT in the United States (6.4% to 3.2%) and over three times as likely as those ages 65 or older. (6.4% to 1.9%) Women are almost twice as likely to be LGBT as men are, 8.3% to 4.6%.<ref name=gallup/>
{| class="wikitable sortable" align="center"
! width="80"|Age/Gender
! width="50"|Yes
! width="50"|No
! width="80"|Don't Know<br>Refused
|-
| '''18-29'''
|align="center"|6.4%
|align="center"|90.1%
|align="center"|3.5%
|-
| '''30-49'''
|align="center"|3.2%
|align="center"|93.6%
|align="center"|3.2%
|-
| '''50-64'''
|align="center"|2.6%
|align="center"|93.1%
|align="center"|4.3%
|-
| '''65+'''
|align="center"|1.9%
|align="center"|91.5%
|align="center"|6.5%
|-
|colspan="4" align="center" height="20px"|
|-
| '''18-29, Women'''
|align="center"|8.3%
|align="center"|88.0%
|align="center"|3.8%
|-
| '''18-29, Men'''
|align="center"|4.6%
|align="center"|92.1%
|align="center"|3.3%
|}
===Education/Income===
Gallup in surveying education and income levels arrived at the conclusion that "LGBT is highest among Americans with the lowest levels of education" and "A similar pattern is found across income groups." While 3.5% of those who have completed high school or less and 4.0% of those who have completed some college identify as LGBT, only 2.8% of college graduates and 3.2% of postgraduates do so. And while 5.1% of those with incomes below $24,000 identify as LGBT, 3.6% of those in the $24,000-$60,000 range do so, and 2.8% of those in both the $60,000-$90,000 and $90,000+ income brackets.<ref name=gallup/>
{| class="wikitable sortable" align="center"
! width="160"|Education Level
! width="50"|Yes
! width="50"|No
! width="80"|Don't Know<br>Refused
|-
| '''High school or less'''
|align="center"|3.5%
|align="center"|90.3%
|align="center"|6.3%
|-
| '''Some college'''
|align="center"|4.0%
|align="center"|93.2%
|align="center"|2.8%
|-
| '''College graduate'''
|align="center"|2.8%
|align="center"|94.7%
|align="center"|2.6%
|-
| '''Postgraduate education'''
|align="center"|3.2%
|align="center"|94.5%
|align="center"|2.3%
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" align="center"
! width="160"|Income Level
! width="50"|Yes
! width="50"|No
! width="80"|Don't Know<br>Refused
|-
| '''Under $24,000'''
|align="center"|5.1%
|align="center"|92.2%
|align="center"|2.7%
|-
| '''$24,000 to <$60,000'''
|align="center"|3.6%
|align="center"|95.1%
|align="center"|1.3%
|-
| '''$60,000 to <$90,000'''
|align="center"|2.8%
|align="center"|96.5%
|align="center"|0.7%
|-
| '''$90,000+'''
|align="center"|2.8%
|align="center"|96.4%
|align="center"|0.8%
|-
|}
===Region===
The 2012 Gallup study discovered that LGBT identification is greater on the East and West coasts (3.7% and 3.6% resp.) than in the South (3.2%) or Midwest (3.4%).<ref name=gallup/>
{| class="wikitable sortable" align="center"
! width="120"|Region
! width="50"|Yes
! width="50"|No
! width="80"|Don't Know<br>Refused
|-
| '''South'''
|align="center"|3.2%
|align="center"|92.0%
|align="center"|4.8%
|-
| '''Midwest'''
|align="center"|3.4%
|align="center"|92.2%
|align="center"|4.4%
|-
| '''West'''
|align="center"|3.6%
|align="center"|92.7%
|align="center"|3.7%
|-
| '''East'''
|align="center"|3.7%
|align="center"|91.8%
|align="center"|4.5%
|-
|}
===Genetics and Claims of the immutability of homosexuality===