Gender Identity
Why Does It Matter?
"Moving Beyond the Binary of Sex and Gender", by Ugla Stefanía, 14 min
Although gender has historically been defined as masculine or feminine, there is much more variation, fluidity, and nuances of gender identity and gender expression. Studies that offer inclusive questions for gender identity, including the option to self-describe, are better able to accurately reflect the diversity of the community in which the research is being conducted.
Gender Identity Questions
Open-ended prompts are most supportive of gender and sex diversities and can be qualitatively coded. If coding an open-ended prompt is not possible (i.e., large studies), we suggest using the two question approach from Morrison et al. (2021). Phrasing for START's gender identity questions, as well as rationale and a table of gender identity definitions can be find in the document provided here.
References
Morrison, T., Dinno, A., & Salmon, T.. (2021). The Erasure of Intersex, Transgender, Nonbinary, and Agender Experiences Through Misuse of Sex and Gender in Health Research. American Journal of Epidemiology, 190(12), 2712–2717. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwab221
TEDx Talks. (2016, June 8). Moving Beyond the Binary of Sex and Gender | Ugla Stefanía | TEDxReykjavik [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NHV4Az-EzY