A few years ago, I began an informal research project to attempt to shed some light on this unexplored area. Initially the surveys were distributed, with the assistance of some friends and associates, by word of mouth. Methods for distributing the survey included publishing announcements in various gay and lesbian publications, posting announcements to newsgroups and electronic mail discussion lists on the Internet, and referrals from other respondents. The survey was more prominently publicized in some publications oriented more toward gay men. The percentage of Greek students who are lesbigay is difficult to accurately determine.
Many students are still in the process of developing their sexual identity while in college.
Many identified themselves as bisexual for a period of time before accepting a self-identity as gay or lesbian. Often, the respondents did not discover or confirm a fellow member's homosexual or bisexual orientation until after they both had been graduated. With an mean reported chapter size of 52, it is probable that the average respondent matriculated with 75 - 90 different brothers over the course of his undergraduate career. The actual percentages of lesbigay members would, of course, be higher, to include those others not known with certainty by the respondents to be lesbigay. The data collected suggests that lesbigay students join fraternities and sororities for reasons similar to those one would expect from a sample of heterosexual students.