Data Dialogues

Conversations About SSOGI Demography

The collection and curation of data on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity (SSOGI) is essential to sexual and gender minority (SGM) health research. While this topic has received increasing attention in recent years, much of it has focused on developing standardized measures which can be applied across contexts. Less attention has been paid to core theoretical, ideological, and philosophical aspects of SSOGI demography, yet these viewpoints are essential. As Krieger (2012) reminds us, populations are not static entities, but complex, dynamic, and shifting sociopolitical bodies constituted through both intrinsic and extrinsic processes. As researchers, we are active participants in the creation and reification of population borders and their social consequences, not simply passive observers.

With this in mind, the EDIT Program and ADVOCATE SGM Health Program at ISGMH developed a series of recorded conversations focused on core epistemological, ontological, axiological, ethical, and methodological tensions in SSOGI demography. Our conversations provide guidance for researchers regarding how to critically navigate these tensions. Drawing on the expertise of our faculty and staff as well as external academic- and community-based experts, we facilitate a series of conversations which bring these critical elements of our work to the surface.

Curated resources provide additional reading related to the ideas and concepts in each conversation. We invite you to explore these topics as we discuss how data should be much more than a tool for research, but also a means of understanding and sharing a person’s unique experiences.

Navigating Umbrella Categories in Sexual and Gender Minority Data Collection

In this dialogue, Dylan Felt, MPH (she/her) and Lauren Beach, PhD (they/them) interview community organizer and data scientist, Bauer, LCSW (she/her) and community organizer and advocate River McMican (they/them) about the important nuances of using umbrella categories in sexual and gender minority data collection, especially within academic and community advocacy spaces.

Resources and Further Reading

The Ace Community Survey
The Bisexual Resource Center
Inclusive Therapy with Bauer
Glossary of Statistical Terms, University of California, Berkeley
LGBTQ+ Identification in U.S. Now at 7.6%: More than one in five Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ+, Gallup
Brief Report: Gender Identity Differences in Autistic Adults: Associations with Perceptual and Socio-cognitive Profiles, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Neurodiversity & Gender-Diverse Youth: An Affirming Approach to Care 2020, National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center
Trans and Autistic by Noah Adams and Bridget Liang

Suggested Citation

Felt D., Beach LB., Bauer, McMicken, R. (2023). Navigating Umbrella Categories in Sexual and Gender Minority Data Collection., Northwestern University’s Evaluation, Data Integration, and Technical Assistance (EDIT) Lab, Chicago, IL.

Two Spirit Identity: Resonance and Relevance in SSOGI Measurement and Research

In this Data Dialogue, Dylan Felt (she/her) interviews Nick Metcalf (they/she/he), a member of Rosebud Sioux Tribe, South Dakota and assistant professor at Metro State University. Together they discuss the meaning and history of the Two Spirit identity and its influence and possible uses in SSOGI measurement data collection and future research.

Resources and Further Reading

Why We Need Gender Fluidity, TEDx Talk with Nicholas Metcalf
Two-Spirit: Conversations with Young Two-Sprit, Trans and Queer Indigenous People in Toronto by Maria Laing
Interview with Nick Metcalf, Digital Transgender Archive

Suggested Citation

Felt D. & Metcalf, N. (2023). Two Spirit Identity: Resonance and Relevance in SSOGI Measurement and Research., Northwestern University’s Evaluation, Data Integration, and Technical Assistance (EDIT) Lab, Chicago, IL.

The Role of Ethics in SSOGI Research

In this dialogue, Lauren Beach, PhD (they/them), and Dylan Felt (she/her) interview leading bioethicist in transgender health Florence Ashley, SJD (they/them). Together, they discuss some of the rewards and challenges of ethically collecting SSOGI data and scrutinize the tension between collecting the most accurate data as possible and collecting data that is “meaningful” and “usable.”

Resources and Further Reading

Ethical Research: Good Practice Guide To Researching LGBT Communities and Issues, LGBT Foundation
Transgender Data Collection in the Electronic Health Record: Current Concepts and Issues, Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
LGBTQ+ Research: Ethics, Methods, and Experiences in the Field
Transporting the Burden of Justification: The Unethicality of Transgender Conversion Practices, Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics
Collecting Data About LGBTQI+ and Other Sexual and Gender-Diverse Communities, American Progress
Ashley F. Science Has Always Been Ideological, You Just Don't See It, Archives of Sexual Behavior. 2019
Healy K. Fuck Nuance, Sociological Theory

Suggested Citation

Felt D., Beach LB., & Ashley, F. (2023). The Role of Ethics in Sex Assigned at Birth, Gender Identity, And Sexual Orientation (SSOGI) Research., Northwestern University’s Evaluation, Data Integration, and Technical Assistance (EDIT) Lab, Chicago, IL.

Challenging the Umbrella Race Category Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)

The experiences of culture and diaspora are not monolithic. Northwestern University PhD students Erique Zhang (they/she) and Phoebe Lin (she/they) join Ysabel Beatrice (Bea) Floresca (they/she), a research assistant in the EDIT Program, to discuss the difficulties in capturing the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and sexual and gender minority (SGM) experience through data, especially about people living at the intersection of both identities. As AAPI researchers in communication studies, social policy, and public health, the speakers discuss the importance of proper demographic data collection that honors identities, the problems of treating AAPI as an umbrella category, and the possible harms of using “other” in race/ethnicity data collection.

Additional Resources

AAPI Data
Asians Could Opt Out of Naming a Country of Origin on the 2020 Census, a Policymaker’s Nightmare, The Conversation
Diverse Cultures and Shared Experiences Shape Asian American Identities, Pew Research Center
Geisha of a Different Kind: Race and Sexuality in Gaysian America by C. Winter Han
Global Divas: Filipino Gay Men in the Diaspora by Martin F. Manalansan
The Inadequacy of the Term “Asian American”, Vox
Inside the Diverse and Growing Asian Population in the U.S., The New York Times
Invisible Asian Americans: The Intersection of Sexuality, Race, and Education Among Gay Asian Americans, Race Ethnicity and Education
Q&A: Queer in Asian America, Edited by David L. Eng, and Alice Y. Hom
Q&A: Voices from Queer Asian North America, Edited by Martin F. Manalansan IV, Alice Y. Hom, and Kale Bantigue Fajardo

Suggested Citation

Floresca YB, L. PY., & Zhang EE. (2023). Challenges in using the umbrella race category of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) in Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) research – why experiences of culture and diaspora cannot be monolithic., Northwestern University’s Evaluation, Data Integration, and Technical Assistance (EDIT) Lab, Chicago, IL.

The Strengths and Limitations of Queer Data

Scar Winter Kelsey (they/them) speaks with with Kevin Guyan (he/him), the author of Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action, about what makes data queer and the contexts, benefits, and risks of queer data in our modern world. We talk about who gets to be in the room to tell our stories, who should be in the room, and how to highlight queer joy within data.

Definitions and Resources

Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action by Kevin Guyan
Definition of queer data from Kevin Guyan: “Queer data has two elements: firstly, data about LGBTQ+ lives and experiences. It will come as no surprise that many data collection activities fail to consider the different experiences of LGBTQ+ communities. This leaves researchers and policymakers with many unanswered questions when they investigate challenges across contexts such as health care, the arts, education, crime and justice. The second element is a bit different and focuses on the queering of data. This requires us to ask questions of those in positions of power, challenge assumptions about methods, and disrupt the status quo. The queering of data is really important as it involves an examination of identity categories that are currently hidden in data collection activities, most obviously data about cis, heterosexual people. It might seem odd to advocate the collecting of more data about cis, heterosexual groups, but by shining a light on these identities it can challenge their position as the default, natural or normative category.”
Sources referenced:

Suggested Citation

Kelsey SW. & Guyan K. (2023). The Strengths and Limitations of Queer Data., Northwestern University’s Evaluation, Data Integration, and Technical Assistance (EDIT) Lab, Chicago, IL.