gay = smart!!!

[CurseoftheGods]

Stolen from GAF, but I found it to be a pretty good read:

Gay Men on Campus: Smart, Studious, Involved

An economist taking a new look at existing data suggests that gay men do incrementally better at college than straight men, while bisexual women do worse than their peers.

By: Tom Jacobs

Economist says data suggests that gay men do incrementally better at college than straight men, while lesbian and bisexual women do worse than their straight female peers.

Gay male college students are more motivated to learn and more likely to be mentored than their straight counterparts, and their above-average grades suggest this kind of engagement makes a real difference.

Those are some of the findings of an intriguing new look at sexual minorities on American college campuses, which has just been published in the journal Economics of Education Review. According to the research, which is apparently the first of its kind, gay male undergraduates appear to be doing quite well: Their grade point average is about 2 percent higher than that of straight males at the same institution.

"The thing that really comes out (in the data) is that gay men see academic work as more important than heterosexual men," said study author Christopher Carpenter, an assistant professor of economics and public policy at the University of California, Irvine. "They were 1.41 times more likely to say their academic work was important.

"That could explain the GPA effect," he added. "It's plausible that if gay men perceive their academic work as more important, then they're trying harder."

Gay men also spend 40 to 50 percent more time doing volunteer work or participating in student organizations, according to Carpenter's findings. "It's possible that these organizations they belong to could include fraternities," he said. "But I doubt that, because gay men were less likely to say participating in parties was important to them."

Another possible factor in their success rate: Gay male students were about 13 percent more likely than straight male students to report they had a faculty member or administrator they could talk to about a problem.

For women, the picture is far more mixed. "Like gay men, lesbians and bisexual women were much more likely to find politics and the arts important," Carpenter said. "The (above-average levels of) connectedness and activism were the same for lesbians and gay men.

"But the other findings were definitely different. Those differences were driven almost entirely by those women who have had both male and female sex partners. Behavioral lesbians appear to do no worse, no better academically than behavioral heterosexuals.

"But behavioral bisexuals (who are overwhelmingly female) do a lot worse. They spend significantly less time studying. They're much less satisfied with their academic work. They think their academic work is less important than do other women. Bisexual women are not having as good a college experience."

The study provides interesting context for previous findings that homosexuals in the U.S. are far more likely to be college educated than heterosexuals. A 2004 New Jersey study found 52 percent of same-sex couples in that state include at least one partner with a college degree, compared to 42 percent of opposite-sex couples.

Carpenter obtained his data from the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, one of the few surveys to include questions about students' sexuality. "In 1997, 1999 and 2001, they did a nationally representative survey of alcohol use on college campuses," he said. "They had high-quality data from 120 colleges and universities, with thousands of students responding. That's the data subset I used. (Among a wide range of questions) they asked if you have had sex, and if so, was it with males exclusively, females exclusively, or both."

The 2001 survey, using those criteria, found that 4.7 percent of male students and 6.2 percent of females were gay, lesbian or bisexual.

Carpenter is quick to concede that reporting on amorous experiences at that stage in life is far from a definitive statement about sexual orientation. For women in particular, having a same-sex partner in college is not necessarily an indication of one's adult sexuality, and he cautioned about drawing conclusions based on these responses.
"Female sexuality appears to be far more complicated than male sexuality," he said.

Nevertheless, he was thrilled to stumble across this data, since - apparently due to privacy concerns - there are surprisingly few surveys that ask students about their sexual orientation. He hopes more such surveys will be taken in the future and they will break down what specific organizations these students belong to.

Such information would be "really relevant when considering college and university resource allocations," he noted. "If (as the increased level of mentorship suggests) we found the positive effects for gay men were driven by access to gay/lesbian/bisexual resource centers, that might mean you should invest more in those centers."

Or, at the very least, make sure they survive in an era of cutbacks.

"Clearly, gay/lesbian resource centers have become more prominent on campuses over the past couple of decades," Carpenter noted. "We could be observing that effect. They may increase the connectedness of sexual minority students."

Carpenter's findings reinforce several stereotypes: Lesbians are more likely to be involved in athletics than straight women, and gays, lesbians and bisexuals all express more interest in the arts than straight students. Participation in cultural activities is particularly important to gay men, which raises the question of a possible connection between creative expression and academic achievement. Numerous studies have suggested that exposure to the arts, particularly music, helps cognitive development in children; perhaps its impact extends all the way into college.

Interest in the arts may also help explain a puzzling disconnect between gay men's college achievements and later incomes.

"In a California study, I found no difference in earnings between self-identified gay men and straight men," Carpenter said. "But there are other studies that find gay men earn a lot less. I don't think the jury is in yet.

"I find gay men place a lot more importance in the arts. Arts occupations are not well paid, and gay men are disproportionately likely to be employed in those professions."

In other words, when it comes to income, your GPA may be less important than whether you earn an MBA or an MFA.

http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture_society/gay-men-on-campus-smart-studious-involved-1282

[Eric P]

while bisexual women do worse than their peers.

probably all of those pillow fights

[Veidt]

Isolated individuals who see themselves "different" are always more prosperous than their peers, academically speaking. They can focus more on other endavours. This is the same thing as the whole  " Asians are good at math" thing, it's borderline insulting.

[Madrun Badrun]

Well if it will raise my grade ... 

Who wants to do me some learning? 

[Joe Molotov]

Who wants to do me some learning? 

Let's watch some Biodome and get smarter. 

[Dickie Dee]

I'm not sure why self-identified lesbians don't out perform like self-identified gay men, but I wonder if the underperformance of bi-sexual women is because a portion of those that might identify themselves as such are just party-girls.

[Madrun Badrun]

Who wants to do me some learning? 

Let's watch some Biodome and get smarter. 

 

[Arbys Roast Beef Sandwich]

www.mensa.org

[Flannel Boy]

Isolated individuals who see themselves "different" are always more prosperous than their peers, academically speaking.

You're wrong, and you're wrong because you're either relying on your intuition or on popular culture. Instead you should be relying on something more sound, like the social sciences. While they're not as reliable as the hard sciences, they're more reliable than arm-chair philosophizing or gazing at the TV for profound insights.

http://ajol.info/index.php/saje/article/view/24924/20536

A significant, negative correlation exists between social isolation and academic achievement. The higher the social isolation of the learner, the lower the academic achievement seems to be

oops

And did you not read the OP?

Gay men also spend 40 to 50 percent more time doing volunteer work or participating in student organizations

That doesn't sound like gay men are more isolated; in fact, that suggests gay men on campus are socially engaged.

[Veidt]

ah, so it could depend on the surroundings of  the individual. For instance, in less accepting social climates, the gay person here would be  lesser off. And in more accepting ones as with most western societies, the individual would be better off, where being gay actually sometimes adds to your social acceptance [ well, in more educated regions]. So how does this mean, that specifically gay people are smarter? Wouldn't the research suggest that any individuals that are prefered, would automatically feel that they can do more [ volunteer etc] and thus achieve more?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I didn't read the OP : (

[close]

[Van Cruncheon]

all the bisexual chicks i knew in college were usualy pretty smart but emotionally damaged edgy chicks more concerned with partying, the internet, socializing, or being depressed.

[Flannel Boy]

So how does this mean, that specifically gay people are smarter? Wouldn't the research suggest that any individuals that are prefered, would automatically feel that they can do more [ volunteer etc] and thus achieve more?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I didn't read the OP : (

[close]

Gay men aren't treated preferentially in the West.

The title of the actual paper is not "gay = smart," but "Sexual orientation and outcomes in college." The fact that gay men have a 2% higher GPA than straight men does not mean that they're smarter on average, especially when the paper indicates then gay men are much more motivated to learn.

[Madrun Badrun]

all the bisexual chicks i knew in college were usualy pretty smart but emotionally damaged edgy chicks more concerned with partying, the internet, socializing, or being depressed.

The Internet you say?

Also Malek is so smart. 

[Dickie Dee]

I think the crux of this argument centers alot more around confidence that self-identification can bring, especially at a certain stage in your life (where many are uncertain) and how that confidence can reflect throughout various aspects of your life. A self-identifying gay guy probably is willing to project confidence that reflects through thnigs seemingly unrelated to there sexuality.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Straight men don't do so great because while you got the smart, studious breeders, you got the drunks that are always in and out of academic probation.  You also got the neurotic, possibly religious types that nearly kill themselves if they get less than a 4.0 or God help them, a 3.9.

Bisexual women don't do so well because every "party girl" is a bisexual.  You got a small pool of real bisexuals and then you got the "MySpace bisexuals," girls who are straight but make out with other girls for the purposes of receiving attention.  Pretty obvious as to why this group fares poorly.

Gay men probably do the best because their homosexuality excludes them from many other straight men so there are less trappings of doing poorly in school than if they were straight.

[Positive Touch]

wow that's a lot of generalizations

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Why yes.  Yes they are.

[CurseoftheGods]

So how does this mean, that specifically gay people are smarter? Wouldn't the research suggest that any individuals that are prefered, would automatically feel that they can do more [ volunteer etc] and thus achieve more?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I didn't read the OP : (

[close]

Gay men aren't treated preferentially in the West.

The title of the actual paper is not "gay = smart," but "Sexual orientation and outcomes in college." The fact that gay men have a 2% higher GPA than straight men does not mean that they're smarter on average, especially when the paper indicates then gay men are much more motivated to learn.

Sorry, I was being facetious.

And T EXP, such anecdotes cannot be a basis for generalization.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

The generalizations began on post #2.

I'm nothing if not a follower.

[Tauntaun]

while bisexual women do worse than their peers.

probably all of those pillow fights

Pillow fights are awesome, I miss those. 

[Flannel Boy]

Sorry, I was being facetious.

LOL, obviously.

[Phoenix Dark]

all the bisexual chicks i knew in college were usualy pretty smart but emotionally damaged edgy chicks more concerned with partying, the internet, socializing, or being depressed.

I didn't know the internet existed (for the general college public) in the 70s

[Madrun Badrun]

all the bisexual chicks i knew in college were usualy pretty smart but emotionally damaged edgy chicks more concerned with partying, the internet, socializing, or being depressed.

I didn't know the internet existed (for the general college public) in the 70s

[CurseoftheGods]

all the bisexual chicks i knew in college were usualy pretty smart but emotionally damaged edgy chicks more concerned with partying, the internet, socializing, or being depressed.

I didn't know the internet existed (for the general college public) in the 70s

[Yeti]

  PD annihilating drinky, maybe there is something to this gay=smarter thing.

[Phoenix Dark]

I've only had one obviously bad gay student in one of my classes. He was in my intro lit class a few semesters ago and couldn't sit still in class, interrupted the teacher a lot, and talked in class. Really obnoxious

[Fragamemnon]

I wonder if anyone took the time to overlay the graded scores with the average scoring for the specific classes they were taking instead of just taking it at an institution level. Most of the openly gay people I met in college were in lightweight degree tracks like communications and stuff, and not in the critical analysis areas where classes are harder.