Acceptance of same-sex sexuality also shot up, with only 13% saying it was “not wrong at all” in 1990, compared to 49% in 2014. Millennials – those 18 to 29 years old in 2014 – were the most accepting, with 63% saying same-sex sexuality was “not wrong at all.” This is an enormous cultural change over a relatively short period of time. It was partially due to a time period effect, with all generations growing more accepting over time, and partially to a generational shift, with a continuing generation gap between the Millennials and older generations. [...]
But that still doesn’t really answer the “why” question. Why did the culture open up to LGBT individuals? The larger context is the many other cultural shifts that occurred in American life over the same time: growing gender equality, more self-focus, more emphasis on uniqueness, and less reliance on traditional social rules. In short, American culture has become more individualistic: More focused on the self, and less on social rules. This is the primary thesis of my book Generation Me.
My colleagues and I (and many others) have found evidence for a shift toward individualism in everything from the language used in books (including pronouns) to the names we give our children to the decline in religion to our self-views. That has implications for sexuality as well: In a society where the individual self is paramount, sexuality becomes more free and open. You don’t need to marry someone to have sex. Your sexual partner doesn’t have to be a different gender to make it OK. The modern idea is "do what's right for you," and that has meant more freedom for people to engage in same-sex sexuality and accept it among others.
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