One in 20 under-35s in Ashfield identify with LGB+ sexuality

Stonewall said it shows that with each passing generation, more people feel safer to come out as LGBT+ and live as their true selves.

The census data shows 645 people aged 16-24 in Ashfield said they identified with a sexuality other than heterosexual when the census took place in March 2021, alongside 840 aged 25-34.

It means about 5.3 per cent of those aged under 35 in Ashfield said they identified with an LGB+ sexuality.

Across England and Wales, the majority of LGB+ people were aged 16-34, 57.9 per cent, with about 6.2 per cent of the age group identifying with a minority sexuality.

LGB+ covers people identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual, as well as pansexual, asexual, queer, or any other non-heterosexual orientation.

Additionally, the data shows females in Ashfield were more likely to identify with a minority sexuality, with 1,580 saying they were not straight, compared with 1,060 males.

Nationally, 830,000 females, 3.3 per cent, identified with an LGB+ sexual orientation, compared with 706,000 males, 3 per cent.

In Ashfield, 310, 0.3 per cent, people said they did not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth.

The figures show 85 people aged 16-24 said they were transgender, accounting for 27.4 per cent of the trans community in the area.

In England and Wales, people aged 16-24 were the most likely age group to have said their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth.

About 1 per cent of the younger age cohort said they were trans, followed by 0.8 per cent of people aged 24-34 and 0.6 per cent of people aged 35-44.

Stonewall said: “Following the initial data showing more than 1.5 million lesbian, gay and bi people living in England and Wales, we now see younger generations feel safer to be themselves.

“Each generation reports more lesbian, gay and bi people than the last, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there are now more. It suggests older generations were not always safe or free to speak about their experiences, or lacked the language to describe them.”

It said the data is a reminder to leaders, institutions and governments to champion the LGBT+ community.