New CDC-linked figures suggest a notable fall in the number of young American girls identifying as lesbian or bisexual, particularly among younger teenagers. The shift has prompted debate over changing social attitudes, pandemic-era effects and whether the figures mark a lasting trend or simply a temporary swing in self-description.

Essential Takeaways

  • Sharpest change among younger girls: The largest reported fall is among ninth-grade girls, especially those identifying as bisexual.
  • Older teenagers are steadier: Figures for boys and older pupils appear comparatively stable.
  • The pandemic is part of the debate: Experts have suggested that isolation and online social life may have influenced how young people explored identity.
  • The data needs care: Researchers warn that several years of results are needed before declaring a permanent shift.
  • Health support still matters: CDC guidance highlights continuing health disparities affecting LGBTQ+ young people.

Younger girls account for the biggest change

The most striking movement is among ninth-grade girls in the United States. According to the analysis, the share identifying as lesbian fell from roughly 30% in 2021 to 17% in 2025, while the proportion identifying as bisexual dropped from about 26% to 13%.

That is a substantial change in only a few years, although survey percentages can move for several reasons. Wording, sampling, willingness to disclose personal information and the social atmosphere around identity can all affect the final result.

The figures are not a verdict on how teenagers feel. They are a snapshot of how respondents described themselves at a particular moment, which is why the numbers should be read with curiosity rather than treated as a simple cultural scoreboard.

A wider fall is visible among US teenagers

The change isn't limited to ninth grade. Across female high-school students, the reported share identifying as lesbian declined from around 27% in 2023 to 22% in 2025. Separate CDC-linked data also indicates that the proportion of young adults aged 18 to 24 identifying as LGBTQ+ fell from approximately 20% in 2022 to 15% in 2025.

The pattern appears more concentrated among younger girls than among boys or older teenagers. Reports from The Washington Post and other commentators have noted that this unevenness is one of the most important features of the data.

In other words, this isn't necessarily a broad retreat from LGBTQ+ identification across every group. It may instead reflect a generational or age-specific shift, with the youngest respondents changing their answers most noticeably.

Did pandemic isolation influence identity labels?

One explanation links the movement to the Covid era. School closures, restricted social contact and heavy reliance on digital communities changed how teenagers formed friendships and explored self-expression. Some analysts believe that this environment may have encouraged more young people to experiment with identity labels during the pandemic years.

That interpretation remains tentative. It risks reducing complicated personal experiences to a single cause, and it doesn't explain every change in the figures. Teenagers also mature quickly, and the meaning or popularity of particular labels can shift as peer culture changes.

The sensible conclusion is that the pandemic may be one piece of the puzzle, not the entire picture. Researchers will need longer-running surveys to see whether the decline continues, levels off or reverses.

Why the health context still matters

Whatever the percentages show, LGBTQ+ young people continue to face specific health and wellbeing challenges. The CDC highlights disparities involving mental health, safety, bullying and access to supportive care, making it important not to interpret lower identification figures as evidence that those needs have disappeared.

A young person who chooses a different label, avoids a label or keeps their identity private may still need understanding and support. Survey categories can change faster than real-life pressures, particularly when young people are navigating family expectations, school environments and social media all at once.

That is the practical takeaway for parents, teachers and health professionals: listen first, avoid assumptions and keep support available without forcing anyone into a category.

A trend worth watching, not overstating

The new figures are attention-grabbing, but they're still part of an evolving statistical picture. Differences between surveys, age groups and collection methods can make direct comparisons tricky, while political and cultural debates may also influence how comfortable respondents feel when answering.

For now, the strongest claim is simply that fewer younger American girls are currently selecting lesbian or bisexual identities in these surveys than did so a few years ago. Whether that reflects changing language, changing behaviour, changing openness or a combination of all three remains unsettled.

As one researcher might put it, the next few survey cycles will tell us far more than a single dramatic comparison. Numbers can open the conversation, but they can't finish it.

It's a striking shift, but the fuller story will take time to emerge.

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