Sex and the census: why surveys should not conflate sex and gender identity

2020/05/19 by Alice Sullivan · 3 citations
Social Sciences · Medicine · #Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences #Reproductive Health and Contraception #Sex work and related issues

paper · doi:10.1080/13645579.2020.1768346

openalex publication_date 2020/05/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/18

Abstract

The UK census authorities have proposed guidance for the 2021 census indicating that the sex question may be answered according to subjective gender identity. This raises issues about the measurement of sex and gender identity which other data collection exercises are also contending with. This paper addresses the questions that have arisen regarding the census, before going on to explain how these questions have emerged more widely. Finally, I address the difficulties of discussing the collection of data on sex in a climate of policy capture and silencing.

Citations

• Parent reports of adolescents and young adults perceived to show signs of a rapid onset of gender dysphoria
• The Gender Wars, Academic Freedom and Education
• Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis

Cited by

• Constructing a queer population? Asking about sexual orientation in Scotland’s 2022 census
• 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses [wikipedia]
• Sex–gender distinction [wikipedia]

Related

• Sex and the Office for National Statistics: A Case Study in Policy Capture
• Gender Identity in the 2021 Census of England and Wales: How a Flawed Question Created Spurious Data
• Measuring Gender and Sex in Surveys: Lessons Learned from 50 Years of Cross-National Survey Data and Nonresponse Patterns
• Best Practices for Collecting Gender and Sex Data
• Trans-exclusionary data activism in the UK