Economic Insecurity among Gay and Bisexual Men: Evidence from the 1991–2016 U.S. General Social Survey

Abstract

Although a sizeable body of research has examined the labor market outcomes for sexual minority men, suggesting that gay and bisexual men earn less than their heterosexual counterparts, fewer studies have addressed whether any apparent earnings disadvantages for sexual minority men extend to economic insecurity more broadly. Using 1991–2016 U.S. General Social Survey (GSS) data, we examine three measures of economic insecurity—household income, perceived financial satisfaction, and views about family income—among gay and bisexual men. We find that most sexual minority men experience multiple types of economic insecurity with larger disparities present for bisexual men. Consistent with the labor market literature, we observe that family structure and human capital acquisition primarily accounted for economic insecurity disparities for gay men, and family structure partially explained disparities for bisexual men.