Summary
In recent years both social scientists and public health researchers have become increasingly aware that gender is not a simple dichotomous variable and a fuller measurement needs more refined coding than a simple and restricted use of male/female or man/woman. Of special interest is the coding of those who are transgendered and/or those having other alternative gender identifications (e.g. intersex, non-binary, genderqueer).
To examine this issue the 2018 General Social Survey (GSS) included items measuring transgender and alternative gender identity, such as questions included in the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) starting in 2015. Two questions about gender identity were added at the end of the GSS’s standard self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) that asks about sexual behavior, drug use, and sexual orientation.
The report cites findings from Putting the “T” in LGBT: A Pilot Test of Questions to Identify Transgender People in the California Health Interview Survey (David Grant, et al) and Demographic and Health Characteristics of Transgender Adults in California: Findings from the 2015-2016 California Health Interview Survey (Jody Herman, Bianca Wilson, Tara Becker)
Publication Authors:
- Tom W. Smith
- et al