SAMESEX - Gleichgeschlechtliche Partnerwahl in Deutschland

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.