Not so long ago, most surveys measured a person’s gender either by observation or with a question that had two response options – “male” or “female.” Survey research, like society more generally, rarely allowed for the possibility that a person’s gender might not match the sex on their birth certificate, or that they might not describe themselves as a man or a woman at all. Social conventions and the small percentage of people who are not heterosexual also meant that surveys seldom asked about sexual orientation.
While Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey’s studies of sexual behavior in the 1940s and 1950s were based on interviews that included questions about same-sex attraction and behavior, questions about sexual orientation were not common in surveys prior to the 1980s. Researchers working to combat the AIDS outbreak began asking regular questions about sexuality and behavior.
The measurement of gender and sexual orientation is a hot topic today. By 2022, four out of ten U.S. adult citizens will report knowing…
