Pink vote

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Pink vote (also called the lavender vote [1] ) are the votes cast by gays and lesbians, and is typically considered a voting bloc. Most prevalent in Britain, the concept has already spread to US, where gays and lesbians are substantially more likely to vote Democratic, [2] and Canada with many other countries like South Africa and Australia starting to acknowledge it. The Pink Vote is now well-established across countries in Western Europe, [3] [4] including Germany [5] with gay and lesbian voters being notably more inclined to vote for social democratic parties over right-wing parties and to be far more supportive of EU integration. In addition, there are socio-political movements and political groups formed by LGBT people who are linked to political parties.

Contents

United Kingdom

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 1.00% of the total population in UK is homosexual and so, 480,000 people consider themselves gay or lesbian as of 2010. [6]

Political parties in Britain now aim at the pink vote bank and leave no stone unturned to persuade the homosexual community to vote in their favour. [7] [8] [9]

The significance of pink vote has increased considerably with the changing times. Charles Kennedy of The Liberal Democrats pitched for the "pink vote" and even promised a package of ways to boost homosexual rights. [10]

Pink voters in the UK tend to vote for socially liberal "left wing" parties that have, at least traditionally, been more support of LGBT rights in the United Kingdom. In the 2017 United Kingdom general election, 51.6% of LGBT voters opted for the Labour Party (UK) while only a small minority of 12.7% voted for the Conservative Party (UK). [11] LGBTQ+ British voters are more likely to vote for the left -- parties like Labour or the Greens -- regardless of their social class and even do so when they come from right-wing homes where their parents voted for the Tories. [12]

United States

According to a research report by Gallup, Americans interviewed estimated the gay population of the US to be 23.2% of the overall population. However, the most recent poll showed that 7.6% of Americans identify as LGBT, including almost 30% of generation Z adults. [13] [14] [15] [16] This percentage does play a big role in the elections and political parties try every way to attract these pink voters. [17] [18] LGBT Democrats (linked to the Democratic Party) and Log Cabin Republicans (linked to the Republican Party) are two of the largest American political groups advocated to LGBT rights issues in politics. An April 2024 Gallup poll found that 83% of lesbian, gay and bisexual women identify with the Democrat Party and only 12% identify with the Republican Party. Likewise, 83% of gay and bisexual men identify with the Democrat Party and only 17% identify with the Republican Party. [19]

An NBC News exit poll for the 2024 presidential election found that Kamala Harris garnered more support from LGBTQ voters than any other presidential candidate in history, with 86% of LGBTQ voters backing Harris and 12% backing Donald Trump - a margin 15% larger than the edge Joe Biden had over Trump in 2020. [20]

Changing times

With the visible impact of the pink vote in Britain, Canada's political scenario also caught up with the pink vote politics. [21] This new idea has also been a topic of debate in the Australia's political system. [22]

There are countries like South Africa where the pink vote is yet to acquire such importance and the homosexual community is yet to be given any added importance in elections. [23]

Recent polling of LGBT voters has revealed queer voting habits to be more complex than previously thought. [24]

In focus

There have also been debates about the impact of pink votes and their existence in politics. [25] In spite of such debates, fever of the pink vote even caught up Oscars as well. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their interests, numerous LGBTQ rights organizations are active worldwide. The first organization to promote LGBTQ rights was the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, founded in 1897 in Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures</span> Variety of communities and subcultures

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink triangle</span> Symbol for the LGBT community

A pink triangle has been a symbol for the LGBT community, initially intended as a badge of shame, but later reappropriated as a positive symbol of self-identity. In Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, it began as one of the Nazi concentration camp badges, distinguishing those imprisoned because they had been identified by authorities as gay men or trans women. In the 1970s, it was revived as a symbol of protest against homophobia, and has since been adopted by the larger LGBT community as a popular symbol of LGBT pride and the LGBT movements and queer liberation movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ community</span> Community and culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people

The LGBTQ community is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning individuals united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality. LGBTQ activists and sociologists see LGBTQ community-building as a counterweight to heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexualism, and conformist pressures that exist in the larger society. The term pride or sometimes gay pride expresses the LGBTQ community's identity and collective strength; pride parades provide both a prime example of the use and a demonstration of the general meaning of the term. The LGBTQ community is diverse in political affiliation. Not all people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender consider themselves part of the LGBTQ community.

Gay bashing is an attack, abuse, or assault committed against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+). It includes both violence against LGBTQ people and LGBTQ bullying. The term covers violence against and bullying of people who are LGBTQ, as well as non-LGBTQ people whom the attacker perceives to be LGBTQ.

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LGBTQ culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture, LGBT culture, and LGBTQIA culture, while the term gay culture may be used to mean either "LGBT culture" or homosexual culture specifically.

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References

  1. ↑ Hertzog, Mark (1996). The Lavender Vote. Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals in American Electoral Politics. New York: NYU Press. ISBN   9780814735305.
  2. ↑ Hertzog, Mark (1996). The Lavender Vote. Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals in American Electoral Politics. New York: NYU Press. ISBN   9780814735305.
  3. ↑ Turnbull-Dugarte, Stuart J. (2019). "The European lavender vote: Sexuality, ideology and vote choice in Western Europe" (PDF). European Journal of Political Research. 59 (3): 517–537. doi:10.1111/1475-6765.12366. S2CID   211336645.
  4. ↑ Turnbull-Dugarte, Stuart J. (2020). "Multidimensional issue preferences of the European lavender vote" (PDF). European Journal of Public Policy. 28 (11): 1827–1848. doi:10.1080/13501763.2020.1804987. S2CID   225438258.
  5. ↑ Turnbull-Dugarte, Stuart J. (2022). "Rainbows and traffic lights: queer voters at the German ballot box". European Journal of Gender and Politics. 6: 134–138. doi: 10.1332/251510821X16534538763121 .
  6. ↑ BBC (23 September 2010). "UK gay, lesbian and bisexual population revealed". BBC News.
  7. ↑ independent (4 July 2009). "Battle for pink vote gets poisonous". The Independent. London.
  8. ↑ guardian (6 July 2009). "Why Tories are winning the pink vote". The Guardian. London.
  9. ↑ telegraph (26 February 2004). "Howard to woo 'pink vote' at gay summit". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  10. ↑ independent (6 March 2001). "Kennedy woos the 'pink vote' with pledge to extend gay rights". The Independent. London.
  11. ↑ Turnbull-Dugarte, Stuart J. (2022). "Who wins the British lavender vote? (Mostly) Labour". Politics, Groups, and Identities. 10 (3): 388–409. doi:10.1080/21565503.2020.1838304. S2CID   228824249.
  12. ↑ Turnbull-Dugarte, Stuart J. (2024). "Far from the (Conservative) tree? Sexuality and intergenerational partisan preferences". Journal of European Public Policy: 1–29. doi: 10.1080/13501763.2024.2332713 .
  13. ↑ "LGBTQ+ Identification in U.S. Now at 7.6%". Gallup. March 13, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Nearly 30% of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ, national survey finds". NBC News. January 24, 2024.
  15. ↑ Jones, Jeffery M. (3 March 2021). "What Percentage of Americans Are LGBT?".
  16. ↑ McCarthy, Justin (27 June 2019). "Americans Still Greatly Overestimate U.S. Gay Population". gallup.com. Gallup. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  17. ↑ The Advocate (26 October 2004). Kerry Plans for Gay America.
  18. ↑ Guardian (24 February 2006). "The pink vote". The Guardian. London.
  19. ↑ "Partisanship by gender, sexual orientation, marital and parental status". Gallup. April 9, 2024.
  20. ↑ "LGBTQ voters moved away from Trump as other Americans embraced him". Washington Blade.
  21. ↑ nationalpost. "Kelly McParland: Harper could take a cue from Cameron on Pride" . Retrieved 2011-06-14.[ dead link ]
  22. ↑ onlineopinion. "The new pink vote".
  23. ↑ timeslive. "Pink vote still up for grabs".
  24. ↑ Huneke, Samuel (27 January 2017). "Queering the Vote". LA Review of Books.
  25. ↑ guardian (26 March 2004). "Can you be pink and true blue?". The Guardian. London.
  26. ↑ guardian (24 February 2006). "The pink vote". The Guardian. London.
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