The Census Bureau will be utilizing your tax dollars to research sexuality and gender to shape future questions, in an effort to expand data on the subjects across America.
In the past, the Census Bureau had only asked about cohabiting couples’ sexual orientation. They feel the short-sided questioning left a hole in data regarding the sexual orientation of those who do not share a home with another person.
Also, the bureau has offered the only gender options of male and female, which does not account for people who identify as transgender or non-binary.
So, the bureau has requested $10 million to evaluate the most suitable way to inquire about both topics.
Since the bureau’s report is updated every ten years, the group will have about 6-7 years to research and develop its evolving system.
The survey was updated in 2020 to include a fill-in-the-blank section under race so that people could input the complexity of their ties with race and ethnicity.
The previous 2010 survey presented a problem reporting couples’ genders, accidentally inflating the number of same-sex couples.
With the U.S. now allowing “X” as a gender option on passports and other forms of ID, the bureau is looking to identify and calculate the number of non-traditionally identifying citizens of the country.