New US high-school survey figures are fuelling fresh debate over how young people describe their sexuality and gender. The apparent fall in LGBT identification, particularly among girls, matters because it raises questions about changing social norms, survey wording and the limits of drawing big conclusions from a single snapshot.

Essential Takeaways

  • A notable shift: CDC survey data indicate a fall in LGB identification among some high-school groups.
  • Girls show the sharpest change: Reported bisexual identification among female pupils has declined from its earlier peak.
  • Labels can move: Identity is influenced by age, language, peer culture and how questions are asked.
  • The wider picture is mixed: Other national polling has recorded long-term growth in LGBT identification among adults.
  • Treat trends carefully: A survey result doesn't prove why people changed their answer.

A striking change among younger respondents

The most eye-catching detail is the movement among female high-school pupils. According to reporting by the Washington Examiner, the proportion of female freshmen identifying as bisexual fell from 26% in 2021 to 13% in 2025. That's a dramatic change on paper, and it has quickly become fuel for arguments about influence, identity and social pressure.

Still, the number needs careful handling. The CDC's Youth Risk Behaviour Survey is designed to track health-related behaviour and experiences among secondary-school pupils, not to settle the causes of sexual identity changes. Its results offer a useful signal, but they can't explain whether respondents changed identity, language, confidence or simply the way they interpreted the question.

Why one survey can't tell the whole story

The CDC has run the Youth Risk Behaviour Survey for years, gathering information from pupils across the United States. Its questionnaires cover topics including mental health, substance use, safety, relationships and sexual behaviour, creating a valuable picture of teenage life.

But surveys are sensitive instruments. Question wording, response options, sampling, school participation and the wider cultural climate can all affect the answers. A teenager who once chose bisexual might later select heterosexual, another category or no label at all, without experiencing a neat change in attraction.

That distinction matters. Calling the shift proof of "social contagion" goes further than the data themselves appear to support. The CDC materials describe what pupils reported; they don't establish a single cause.

The numbers sit inside a bigger, messier trend

The latest result also looks different from the broader adult picture. Gallup has reported that the proportion of US adults identifying as LGBT has risen over the longer term, with younger generations generally more likely to use LGBT labels than older ones.

There isn't necessarily a contradiction. Teenagers and adults answer different surveys, at different moments in life and under different social conditions. A fall among one cohort of pupils could coexist with a long-term rise in adult identification, particularly if young people become more cautious, change labels as they mature or respond differently to survey wording.

Research published through the National Library of Medicine has likewise highlighted how sexual orientation identity can vary across time and between groups. In plain English, identity isn't always a fixed box that people choose once and never revisit.

What should parents and teachers make of it?

The practical lesson is to avoid treating a percentage as a verdict on a particular child. If a young person changes the label they use, the most helpful response is usually calm curiosity rather than celebration, suspicion or interrogation. Ask what the term means to them, listen, and keep the conversation open.

Schools should also be cautious about presenting national survey patterns as personal predictions. The CDC's wider youth-health data can help identify concerns, but it can't replace respectful, individual conversations or professional support where a pupil is distressed.

For families, the numbers are best seen as context rather than a script. Your teenager isn't a statistic, even when the statistic is politically noisy.

A debate that needs better evidence

The figures are likely to remain contested because they touch several sensitive issues at once: adolescent development, sexuality, gender, peer influence and the reliability of self-reported data. The strongest claims on either side need more than a single survey comparison.

Future research could clarify whether the change reflects genuine shifts in attraction, lower enthusiasm for identity labels, altered question design or differences in who took part. Until then, the responsible conclusion is narrower but more useful: young people's reported identities can change, and researchers should investigate why without assuming the answer in advance.

The story is less tidy than either campaigners or critics might prefer. That's precisely why the data deserve a cool look.

Explore the trend carefully, and leave room for young people to describe themselves in their own words.

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