Queering the census

Though popular media have recently framed the “gay rights” movement around the issues of marriage and the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, we believe that equality begins with visibility.

The 2010 census counts same-sex partners and marriages, but it does not collect any data on unmarried, non-partnered individuals who identify as lesbian or gay. Bisexual and transgender identities have been completely left out of a survey that is supposed to depict the diversity of the United States. Though the Census Bureau has specific campaigns to collect data on highly mobile student populations, LGBT students are especially invisible, because the student form does not include the question about relationship status. This year, the Census Bureau will paint a portrait of an America in which our LGBT friends, acquaintances and selves do not exist.

A group of students has organized to support the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s “Queer the Census” campaign in the hopes that the census form will be amended in time for 2020 and that the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey, which asks additional questions relating to quality of life, will be amended by 2011. The Task Force has created stickers that allow individuals to check off whether they identify as “lesbian,” “gay,” “bisexual,” “transgender,” or “a straight ally” before using the sticker to seal their census envelopes, and we will be making these stickers available to all interested students.

We would like the census to be reformed to be even more inclusive and sensitive to diverse identities, beyond the options that are presented on this sticker. In addition to a separate question on sexual orientation, we would like “transgender” to appear next to “male” and “female.” Both of these questions should allow individuals to “mark one or more boxes” and should include a write-in option, following the current format of the question on race.

The Census Bureau’s website says that one of the benefits of being counted is helping “to ensure that your community receives its fair share of government funding” — more than $400 billion of federal funding each year. But when it comes to a community that is not counted and not visible, there is no such thing as a “fair share.”

Since the recognition of same-sex couples in the 1990 census, we have learned that gay and lesbian people live in more than 99 percent of U.S. counties — and that’s only including partnered members of the community. If single LGBT people were counted, it would likely confirm that diversity of sexuality and gender identity exists across cultural, socioeconomic, racial and geographic lines, demonstrating that sensitivity and inclusion of LGBT people needs to be taken into consideration in all public policy decisions.

The invisibility of LGBT individuals in the census is not only symptomatic of their institutionalized invisibility in our country, but also reflective of the ways in which LGBT individuals are left out when the federal government evaluates and implements its programs. Just as information collected by the census about race and gender helps policymakers better fund, implement and evaluate various social and welfare programs, the inclusion of LGBT individuals on the census and the annual American Community Survey is not only necessary to assess and address the pressing and specific needs of the community; it is crucial to understanding the impact of discrepant access to public services on the quality of everyday life. If LGBT individuals remain invisible, their needs are less likely to be considered, addressed and met.

The Census Bureau’s website says, “When you do the math, it’s easy to see what an accurate count of residents can do for your community. Better infrastructure. More services. A brighter tomorrow for everyone.” We believe that “everyone” should include people of all sexual and gender identities in America.

Brenda Jin is a music major from Edison, N.J. Johannes Muenzel is a German major from Plainsboro, N.J. They can be reached at brendaj@princeton.edu and jmuenzel@princeton.edu, respectively.