 A new study says there are more similarities between the finances of gay boys and girls than previously thought. But are we surprised? Maggie Fleming investigates.
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The results of the largest ever British-based LGBT survey were published earlier this month. And, guess what – a few stereotypes have taken a bashing.
The 'Do it with Pride' survey was carried out at Brighton Pride in August last year - of the crowd of over 100,000 who attended the event, 7210 completed the questionnaire.
Mind you, while the Daily Mail might be surprised by some of the results, I don’t think many LGBT people will be. For a start, most of the respondents are in relationships - that comes as no surprise to me but it may shock the blue rinse brigade who think we spend all our time at orgies.
Every week, I talk to committed couples who have been together for many years and try to help them circumvent the inequalities of our tax system and financial services. Thankfully, my task (and, more to the point, their lives) will be made much easier soon when the new Civil Partnership legislation grants our relationships the respect and rights they deserve.
14% of the lesbians who completed the questionnaire have children. I don’t think that should surprise anyone either. Some will be women who had children in heterosexual relationships but increasingly many young lesbian couples (and singles) are choosing to create a family of their own. Indeed, an increasing number of my male clients are doing the same.
The survey also found the presence of a lesbian ‘blue’ pound as a counterpart of the gay male ‘pink’ pound. I must admit I’ve never heard that term before but, whatever you call it, that doesn’t come as much of a surprise either. Although women earn less than men generally, there are a fair number of lesbians about who have a high disposable income. Yes, we don’t all wear dungarees and live in a squat – some of us work in the media, advertising, finance, law etc etc.
One thing that may come as a surprise to the advertising industry (but not to you or me) is that a sizeable proportion of LGBT people do not have high disposable incomes. Of course, there is a grain of truth in the stereotype – if you don’t have children, you are likely to have more money to spend than your straight neighbours who do. But, while it’s flattering to be courted by the advertising industry, we all know that the LGBT community is made up of all sorts of different people.
And in the end that’s what the survey proves. LGBT people are not all the same. Some are rich; some are poor. Some are high flyers; some are unemployed. Some are in relationships; some aren’t. Some have children; some don’t. Basically, in many ways, we’re just like the population at large. We’re not different – we’re ‘normal’.
- See our full list of gay finance News stories -
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