Yet these numbers still indicate that the stereotypical belief that women are sexually fluid and men aren't is flat-out wrong. This percentage is actually down from the last time the CDC came out with this report back in 2011, when 3.2% of straight men said they'd had a same-sex encounter. In looking specifically at the heterosexual men of the study (who made up 95.1% of the men surveyed), 2.8% of them reported having engaged in anal or oral sex with another dude. But we do know that a number of the guys who have had sex with other men identify as exclusively straight. It's worth keeping in mind that 1% of men in the study refused to share their sexual orientations altogether, which could account for some of the gay sex in question. So openly gay dudes actually made up the smallest group of men who've had gay sex among the respondents? Ooh, that's interesting. And yet: 6.2% of men reported having had same-sex sexual encounters. Just 1.9% of men in the report identified as gay, while 2% said they were bisexual.
The contrast between reported sexual orientation and actual, IRL sexual experience is where things get interesting. Participants were asked about their sexual experiences, as well as which sexual orientations they identified with. The report is based on survey answers from more than 9,000 respondents, collected between 20.
