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How to make an LGBTQ+ inclusive survey
Common Mistakes and Ways to Fix Them
This guide was built from an example survey I recently took for my graduate school about the services the school provided. I’ve taken the time to break down each question and explain the problems with it and ways to make the questions more inclusive. I’ve done my best to provide you commentary, and suggest alternatives. For context, I am a nonbinary person who was assigned female at birth. The bolded selections are what I chose on the survey, but I explain why I had trouble choosing for each one.
The Original Questions and Commentary
1. How would you describe yourself?
- Female
- Male
- Trans female/Trans woman
- Trans male/Trans Man
- Gender queer/Gender non-conforming
- Different Identity
- Decline to State
The reason why this is a problem is multilayered. First, there are mixed terms for sex and gender throughout this category and there is no specification that this question wants one or the other. For instance, “Female” refers to sex, but “Gender queer” refers to gender identity. In addition, “Trans female” or “Trans male” are not identities. A transgender person is just that, a different gender, not a different sex. Also, what if someone has gotten a gender change certificate? Do they put their “original” gender down or their “new” gender down? Saying that a transwoman is in a different category than “real” women implies that transwomen aren’t real women. There are so many other problems with this, including how genderqueer and gender nonconforming are not the same category, and that nonbinary people are not on the list at all. In the end I put “Different Identity” since that was the closest option I had. A good way to counteract this is allowing people to write in their own answers if needed. Also, the survey should allow people to choose multiple identities if they want to do so.
2. What sex were you assigned at birth, such on an original birth certificate?
- Female
