Defining sex in the Scottish Census

are NOT proposing adding a third option to the sex question

But how will they be defining sex?

According to Tim Hopkins in the first broadcast, the 2001 ONS guidance for the sex question was to 'answer it according to the sex someone believed themselves to be'

I know there are plans to have a gender identity question but that will be optional.

So won't there be a need to see that definition of sex tightened up?

There's a bit in the second session, with the statisticians and the health people where the guy talks about "intersections" in the right way.. i. e. The census asks different questions on different characteristics: age, sex, ethnicity, disability so they can study how people are affected by intersecting characteristics. . Being male does not intersect with being female!

Can Joan please take over the entire United Kingdom, and can she start Monday.

Thankfully, the ONS (who organise the census in England and Wales) are NOT proposing adding a third option to the sex question.

Also hoping MSPs will reject this in the Scottish Parliament, which feels more likely based on the two oral evidence sessions that have taken place on the draft legislation.

m.facebook.com/JoanMcAlpineSNP/ this is Joan mcalpine fb page where, if you want, can msg her. I intend to thank her for her clear, consise and rational approach to both these meetings.

forwomen.scot
@ForwomenScot
Highland council have seen sense over plans to introduce unisex toilets in a primary school. Well done to all the campaigners. Let's keep up pressure on other councils!

Well done Scotland for looking at this critically. I hope the rest of the UK follow your lead.

The white paper outlining the England and Wales proposals was released today

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/765089/Census2021WhitePaper.pdf

Thank you so much for highlighting this and for the YouTube links.
I've watched both sessions in full.

Some of those MSP have really educated themselves and asked really pertinent questions. Better late than never. The one with the data analysers/ statistician types i imagined would be very dry and overmy head as actually really interesting. The end particularly when asked about issues with previous census. I definitely recommend watching both.

All this topic needs is sunlight and the reason for #nedebate becomes so clear. The TRA don't have a debate just slogans.
If the session convenor is your MP you are very very lucky. She's impressive.

I hope the committee go further on finding out how the 2011 definition passed. It was so wonderful to hear critical comments about official conflations of sex and gender in local authorities etc. If this opens up a root and branch examination of how data is gathered and conflated along with a beefed up approach too EA, we may be moving!

Don't want to get ahead of myself but this is so positive. I hope rest of UK can see. It needs to influence debate down south too! This seems awfully dry but it would be good if Westminster noticed!

If I had the time, I wonder if this was something that could be requested under Freedom of Information.

It's interesting how there seems to be a lack of transparency and scrutiny about how the question of sex was changed for the 2011 census. Really pleased that it's being pointed out and that there were suggestions that perhaps it needs to be looked in to.

I found that striking too irnbru

have just watched it and tra's must be fuming because people are talking scientific sense and not pandering to their feelz.There was one bit that struck me when one of the ladies stated that transmen were biologically women and i did wonder how the tra's would take to that.

www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/culture-tourism-europe-and-external-affairs-committee-december-13-2018

It's linked in here

twitter.com/ForwomenScot/status/1073202270559449088?s=20

Thanks, I am really looking forward to listening to some sense being spoken. Instead of Vic and Tim's Big Day Out nonsense.

It's finished now but should be archived soon.

I can't find the session? Can anyone link to it please?

A really excellent session. The message that sex is binary and that the 2011 guidance needed revising rather than extending came through very clearly. There also were questions about how that got in there in the first place and who influenced it.

Bet Tim, Vic and co are cross they ever started this!

forwomen.scot
‏*@ForwomenScot*
Second session of @SP_European census hearing. Panellists stressing importance of integrity of data on binary nature of sex for health, education etc & importance to separate sex & gender.
Panellists feel that guidance on self ID as introduced in 2011 census should be reversed.
Stressing that we do not know impact of changing definitions (& possibly never will if changed) but they will affect some sub groups (e.g. young people in education) more than others.
Level of information needs to be balanced against user needs. Other data is captured in, for example, sexual attitudes survey.
Convener pointing out conflation that happens across government & local authority as a concern. Agreed by panel that it's a fudge which needs to be set right.

Second session on now:

www.scottishparliament.tv/

"What does it mean to live as a woman?" Hahahahaha i love it when that comes up in professional enquiries.