Recent news about the significant shift of women outpacing men in attending college 鈥� now a 60/40 ratio 鈥� overlooks one of the highest-achieving groups of all: gay men. In addition, lesbian women鈥檚 level of education is not accounted for in the new figures. A new from a University of 91吃瓜 researcher reveals how, without including sexuality, broad statements about gender and education are incomplete and misleading.
鈥淎cross analyses, I reveal two demographic facts,鈥� said , assistant professor of at 91吃瓜, whose study is forthcoming from the American Sociological Review. 鈥淔irst, women鈥檚 rising academic advantages are largely confined to straight women. Although lesbian women historically outpaced straight women, in contemporary cohorts, lesbian and bisexual women face significant academic disadvantages. Second, boys鈥� well-documented underperformance obscures one group with remarkably high levels of school success: gay boys.鈥�
For many years, LGBTQ Americans have been mostly invisible in the data used by social scientists to study population-level patterns of educational achievement and attainment. Under the Obama administration, however, officials added a sexual orientation question to three of the federal government鈥檚 largest household surveys: the National Health Interview Survey, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and the National Crime Victimization Survey. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Education added its first-ever sexual orientation question to the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. Using all of these new data, Mittleman analyzed how sexuality shapes academic performance in unprecedented detail.
Mittleman found that gay men鈥檚 academic success doesn鈥檛 just subtly outshine straight men鈥檚. Roughly 52 percent of gay men in the U.S. have a bachelor鈥檚 degree, while the overall national number for all adults in the U.S. is 36 percent. Six percent of gay men in the U.S. have an advanced degree (J.D., M.D. or Ph.D.), which is about 50 percent higher than that of straight men. This holds true for gay men in the four largest racial/ethnic groups (white, Black, Hispanic and Asian).
鈥淚f America鈥檚 gay men were considered on their own, they would have, by far, the highest college completion rate in the world: easily surpassing the current leader, Luxembourg, at 46.6 percent,鈥� Mittleman wrote.聽
With such clear academic advantages and disadvantages now underscored by his study, Mittleman also sought to understand why certain groups excel over others. His research aligns with what professors Mark Hatzenbuehler and John Pachankis (of Harvard and Yale, respectively) called the 鈥淏est Little Boy in the World鈥� hypothesis. Drawing from Andrew Tobias鈥� memoir, 鈥淭he Best Little Boy in the World,鈥� this hypothesis proposes that gay men respond to societal homophobia by overcompensating in achievement-related domains.
Reflecting on this possibility, Mittleman suggests that 鈥渁cademic performance offers an accessible domain of competitive self-mastery. Whereas the rules of masculinity may feel obscure or unattainable, the rules of school can feel discrete and manageable. Whereas the approval of a parent may be uncertain, the praise of a teacher can be regularly earned with the right amount of effort. And when other avenues for 鈥榖eing a man鈥� are cut off, pursuing the kinds of prestigious careers made possible through meticulously high achievement offers a way to shore up one鈥檚 standing as a man.鈥�
Unlike gay boys, contemporary lesbian girls face a number of academic disadvantages. For example, Mittleman鈥檚 data indicate that, compared to straight girls, lesbians are twice as likely to report ever dropping out of high school. These stark disadvantages, he suggests, could reflect discriminatory treatment from teachers.
Mittleman鈥檚 research underscores the importance of fully recognizing LGBTQ Americans in population surveys, and he notes that further study of LGBTQ students is necessary 鈥渂ecause gender and sexuality are deeply interconnected and sexuality shapes the meaning and consequence of gender throughout our lives.鈥�