Is the what the same as the what?

Watchdog to examine ‘implausible’ UK census trans figures

The statistics regulator is examining concerns that the data behind landmark census figures on the UK’s transgender population may be flawed.

Academics have queried findings by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that 262,000 people identify as transgender in England and Wales.

Next look into how many people identify as a different species.

Michael Biggs, a professor of sociology at the University of Oxford, believes the question posed to record the gender identity of respondents may have confused those whose first language is not English.

He claimed it may be why the London boroughs of Newham and Brent, which have a significant percentage of residents who speak English as a second language, recorded the highest proportion of transgender people in the UK. Overall, those who speak English poorly were found to be five times more likely to be transgender, prompting concerns about the data.

Ssshhhh never mind never mind – the point is there are lots and lots of trans people and we have to change everything to make them comfortable and happy and unlikely to come after us with machetes.

Biggs, who first made his census claims in The Spectator magazine last week, said the problem with the figures originates from the question itself. He noted that the ONS did not simply ask respondents: “Are you transgender?” Instead, it asked: “Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?” This was done following consultations with LGBTQ lobby groups such as Stonewall, he claimed.

Biggs said the authors “never thought about how a Bangladeshi grandmother or a Hungarian plumber will think about this question”, adding: “I’d be disappointed if a master’s student at Oxford made that error.”

Seriously. It’s not a normal question – normal in the sense of being ordinary, commonplace, instantly comprehensible to anyone and everyone. It’s a question from the magical world of Gender Lunacy. To people who don’t live in that world, the question is at best idiotic. At worst it’s random syllables.

What is “identify with” supposed to mean? Why is a government census asking people what they “identify with”? Who needs statistics on what the populace “identify with”? We don’t “identify with” a height or a date of birth or a medical history or an employment history – and why would the state give a damn if we did? Why would the state care?

“Gender you identify with” and “sex registered at birth” are pseudo-progressive jargon, and the state shouldn’t be using that jargon.

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