Published in the Journal of Gender Studies, new analyses by Dr Kevin Guyan observes efforts to narrow sex and gender categories in policy, data and law – recording trans, non binary and queer people in ways that conflict with how they identify.
UK institutions are collecting more personal data than ever, with key decisions based on how sex and gender are defined and recorded. These changes risk creating situations where data about trans communities are obscured, minimised or altogether removed.
Drawing on materials featuring or published by individuals and groups associated with trans-exclusionary data activism between 2019–25, the study outlines core positions and tactics of trans-exclusionary data activism, including:
- Prioritising the collection of data about a person’s biological sex assigned at birth in all instances, regardless of the intended purpose for the data.
- Constructing controversy to keep trans-exclusionary talking points in the media.
- Promoting the claim that major datasets have been ‘corrupted’ because they include trans people.
The article situates UK debates within wider political contests over identity and measurement. It also highlights how the April 2025 Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of ‘sex’ in the Equality Act has implications for how public bodies (e.g. government agencies, police forces and healthcare providers) collect, analyse and use data related to sex and gender.
Trans-exclusionary data activism represents a form of data vandalism, where people are forced to identify themselves in ways that go against how they see themselves.Dr Kevin Guyan, Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the Gender + Sexuality Data Lab
‘Trans-exclusionary data activism is not about accuracy – in any genuine sense – as only asking questions about a person’s biological sex at birth discourages people from sharing information about their lives and experiences’, Dr Guyan added.