How Gay and Lesbian Couples Are Counted in the News?

• In Event: 380 - Section on Sociology of Sexualities Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 07. Measurement

Abstract

Journalists create identity frames when describing same-sex demography. 367 newspaper articles were collected from 1990 to 2015 that mention gay or lesbian and the census. Specifically, in the 1990s to 2000s, journalists focused upon the increase by percentage change, numerical change, fold increase or a combination of the three of same-sex households. In the late 2000s, journalists reported on the similar types of statistics, however, focusing instead on same-sex parents. The size and changes of the same-sex households are being framed as “eye-popping.”

Author

• Carol Walther, Northern Illinois University