Gays and lesbians in the military? Only if they aren’t homosexual

One thing anyone who’s in the business of conducting or managing polls and surveys will no doubt be aware of is how important it is to word your questions with care and thought, given how widely different phrasings can influence what answers responders give. Here’s a rather clear example: a recent New York Times/CBS poll on the issue of the imminent repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” revealed that while the large majority of the public is all for allowing “gay men and lesbians” to serve in the Military (openly or not), just over half would support allowing “homosexuals” to join up.

What – what?

In a test, half of the poll’s respondents were asked their opinion on permitting “gay men and lesbians” to serve, and the other half were asked about permitting “homosexuals” to serve.

The wording of the question proved to make a difference. Seven in 10 respondents said they favor allowing “gay men and lesbians” to serve in the military, including nearly 6 in 10 who said they should be allowed to serve openly. But support was somewhat lower among those who were asked about allowing “homosexuals” to serve, with 59 percent in favor, including 44 percent who support allowing them to serve openly.

I dunno what it is about the terms “gay” or “lesbians” that people seem to prefer over “homosexual”. I would guess that perhaps this is due to the facts that A) people hardly use “homosexual” in common speak (when was the last time you heard about someone going to a “homosexual bar”?), and that B) “homosexual” is, of course, the term most widely used by conservative and religious cranks when ranting against those evil pervy gayz. (Other than “deviants”, perhaps.)

However, I do have a bone to pick with this article, however (by which I mean the report itself, not the actual poll or results):

Democrats in the poll seemed particularly swayed by the wording. Seventy-nine percent of Democrats said they support permitting gay men and lesbians to serve openly. Fewer Democrats however, just 43 percent, said they were in favor of allowing homosexuals to serve openly. Republicans and independents varied less between the two terms.

At first glance, it would certainly seem a bit troubling that Democrats were the most strongly influenced by the mere wording of a question. However, note the article’s incongruity: we get the numbers for the Democrat responders … but what about the results from Republicans (or independents)? I’m not sure whether this is plain dishonesty at work or a simple oversight, so I would be willing to give the benefit of the doubt at the moment. But, at any rate, it is, of course, obvious as to why Republicans have less of a discrepancy between their votes for “gay men and lesbians” or “homosexuals” – they’re both nearly equally “no”.

(via Fark)