Awkward questions over sex on census
The ONS was derided for plans to make Britain the first country not to require citizens to identify their sex in censuses. Feminists warned against the move and MPS branded it “political correctness gone mad”. It had been claimed the question discriminated against transgender people.
PLANS to make Britain the first country in the world not to require citizens to identify their sex in censuses have been branded “political correctness gone mad” and derided by feminists.
The recommendation to make the question optional was made in an Office for National Statistics (ONS) report on gender identity after it was claimed the question discriminates against transgender people.
The proposed change for the 2021 census, which is carried out every 10 years, could leave Britain without an accurate figure for the number of men and women living in the country.
Philip Davies, the Tory MP and member of the Women and Equality Select Committee, said: “The world is going mad – political correctness is taking over the country. I despair.”
Research carried out by the ONS found the “sex” question included on the 2011 census, which required respondents to choose male or female, “was considered to be irrelevant, unacceptable and intrusive, particularly to trans participants, due to asking about sex rather than gender”.
Their report said: “We would tentatively recommend that an unchanged 2011 census question should not be mandatory for the benefit of, particularly, intersex and non-binary people who cannot choose male or female as a reflection of their current sex or gender.” The report explored other options, including a “hybrid” question with the addition of an “other” category.
However, it concluded that asking about “sex” was again thought to be “irrelevant and intrusive”, while the “other” option was “thought to homogenise trans people and differentiate them from the rest of society.”
Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, told The Daily Telegraph: “I think sex is important to monitor, eliminating it means we cannot see effects of certain things on women’s lives.
“I’m more than happy for other categories to be included such as non-binary options.”
Stephanie Davies-arai, a feminist activist, said: “Women’s biological sex is being erased and that terrifies me. Once you stop gathering information, that skews everything for women.”
Maria Miller, the chairman of the Women and Equality Select Committee, told The Telegraph: “I think it’s a sensible recommendation given the increasing numbers of people not wanting to identify in traditional ways. It’s a progressive way of handling the problem.”
An ONS spokesman said the document is an update on research “on potentially collecting information on gender identity as well as data on sex”.
In a statement, he said: “It does not contain proposed census questions and suggests further research is required.”