If you were one of the lucky few who managed to fill out the census before it crashed, it probably felt much like last time, only this time it’s online, there’s less privacy around it as the ABS is collecting more data about you, et cetera.
However, since the last census, there has been one pretty massive change for some people. In 2011, about one month after the census, Australia broadened the availability of the ‘X’ gender option – while it was available since 2003 only to those with an X on their birth certificate, in 2011 we allowed people to add it to their passport without a birth certificate, and since 2013 it’s been introduced across a broader spectrum of government identifications, and with more relaxed restrictions as to who can choose it.
But the census form, you may have noticed, still only allowed you to choose ‘male’ or ‘female’. You could get a form with a third option, but only if you wrote in and requested it. Let me clarify that: in order to record the gender that you legally have on your birth certificate or passport, you had to request a special census form. If you weren’t organised enough to do so, or you didn’t know in advance, the form you filled in literally didn’t have the box for you to tick.
This is bureaucracy at its finest. A friend of mine, who is legally recorded as X gender on their birth certificate, their passport, and a whole host of other government organisations, recently had to submit another government-affiliated application form, which only had ‘male’ or ‘female’ as options. My friend, who is not particularly bothered by being misgendered, wasn’t necessarily offended by this lack of recognition, more just confused. If they select an option that isn’t ‘X’ or ‘other’, they’re screwing up the form, screwing up the system, and running the risk of negating their application entirely because it won’t match up with the rest of the data the government has for them.
Think about how many forms ask for your gender. Why does the library need to know your gender? What about your local pub’s membership? Think about all the times you’ve had to select ‘male’ or ‘female’ for something that seems completely unrelated to your gender. Now think about all the times you’ve filled out that box, and male or female has been the only option. What the hell are you supposed to do if legally, you’re neither of those things? I know friends who will often select both, or neither, but what about it when it’s one of those online forms where you have to choose just one option?
People at the ABS were no doubt patting themselves on the back for being so accommodating. But this is not ‘progressive’ – this is a failing of a government organisation to recognise a state-sanctioned option. Imagine if the census just didn’t have the option to select ‘Islam’ or ‘no religion’ as your religion, and no chance to record another option – so when all the forms come back, it looks like we have a country that has no Islamic people, or no atheists. That’s just bad statistics – not to mention, it brings a whole host of problems (and ignorance) with it.
Having the third gender option visible and blatant allows the people who identify that way to be recorded, recognised, and then catered for. Imagine if the census had discovered there was a whole host of third-gendered people living in Marrickville, and that then led to the installation of gender-neutral toilets at Marrickville station? By hiding the third option, this has made these kind of easy improvements that the census usually enables that much harder.
And not only that, but the census – if you request a special form – has listed its third option as ‘other’, in a literal demonstration of othering anyone who isn’t male or female. If we wanted the census to legally match government records, why wasn’t the third option X? There’s really no better way to alienate a population than to ask them to request special forms so they can list themselves as ‘other’. I’d laugh if it wasn’t so fucking frustrating.
And on that note, this is my final Out And About column for the BRAG. I’ve been writing this every week for the last year and a quarter. I’ve written about frustrating things, and sad things, but also incredible things, and incredible people. The Sydney queer community is an excellent one, despite all the backhands to the face we’ve copped. I’ve loved writing for and about it, and for you, but now it’s time for a fresh perspective. See you round, folks.
This Week:
This Friday August 12, Shades returns to The Shift for a back-to-school-themed party. Also on Friday August 12, Girlthing and Boything return to the Imperial Hotel for a leather-themed night with Bad Ezzy [below], L’Oasis, Estee Louder, Dunny Minogue and more. Girlthing is in the basement, with a $15 cover, and Boything is in the front bar, free entry.
Then on Saturday August 13, get along to the marriage equality rally at Town Hall from 1pm. We’ve been rallying here for exactly 12 years (August 13 marks 12 years since Howard deliberately excluded queers from the Marriage Act), and though you may be fatigued, we’re so close now. Tell them where to put the plebiscite, and hurry up and pass the bill.
