Gender-Ideology Trouble? Ideology, Gender, and Generation as Factors in LGB+ Self-identification among Gen Z and Millennials in Catalonia

Throughout the world, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) self-identification has significantly risen among Millennials and Generation Z. However, many studies have overlooked how sexual identity and fluidity among young people are potentially endogenous to ideology, as a psychological and political factor, as well as gender and generational cohorts. This article explores these issues among 4,000 Catalan Millennials and Gen Z individuals using data from two official surveys conducted in 2017 and 2022. Our findings indicate a rise in non-normative sexual orientations and a shift towards more fluid conceptions of sexuality, rather than fixed categories, with notable variations based on gender and ideological stance. Nonetheless, we observe that a leftist ideology is associated with a higher likelihood of identifying as LGB+, particularly among Catalan Gen Z women, where over 25% identify as non-heterosexual. On the one hand, this study provides a new theoretical and empirical perspective on youth sexual identity outside the Anglosphere, highlighting the interplay between individual, micro psychological agency and broader, macro sociological factors, such as gender norms and political trends. On the other hand, the article offers evidence of reverse causality between sexual identity and ideology in the line suggested by Critical Theory, thus contributing to political behavior literature.