The project deals with same-sex couples

in Germany. The social visibility as well as the societal and legal

acceptance of same-sex couples has increased considerably over the past

years and today they are even recorded in official statistics.

Nevertheless they are rarely considered in social science research so

far. Studies on the prevalence and demographic characteristics of

same-sex couples are available predominantly for the US, whereas in

Germany even basic empirical evidence is sparse.

The project

intends to advance the development of a new field of research. For the

first time in the German context, the prevalence and trends of same-sex

partnering over time and across cohorts are described. Moreover, the

formation of same-sex relationships is examined. The question here is

which individual and social conditions contribute to the spread of

same-sex relationships. Finally, the patterns of mate selection among

gay and lesbian couples are analysed.

Data from several years of

the German Microcensus are used and prepared for the empirical analysis.

Although the Microcensus is limited in its applicability to the

research question, it is the only representative data source available

in Germany where same-sex cohabitations are included in sufficient

quantity.