
The 2021 Census has likely landed in your letter box already.
And this year, once again, Queer people will be left out of the data collected.
Why? Because this Census includes no questions around sexual orientation, gender identity or variations of sex characteristics.
To be more precise, as a result of this we will continue to be in the dark about just how many Australians are Queer.
Watch Deni on No Filter. Post continues below.
Earlier this year it was announced that the Census would include a non-binary sex option.
So many gender diverse people celebrated this as a small win and a necessary step in the right direction.
At the time, I was interviewed about this very announcement by various media outlets, explaining to them why this was such a big deal. I explained to them that for the first time, so many of my community would feel seen and valued by our country as equal citizens.
However, in the last week it’s been revealed that the selection of this option won’t be included in the main Census data release and will be presented in a separate Census analytical article to be published in late 2022.
In one fell swoop I felt gaslit by my own country, gaslit by the government, at yet another example of performative ally ship. It felt like a tokenistic display of support that would once again result in myself and countless others (emphasis on the word 'countless') feeling like second-class citizens.
In the same time frame, we’ve seen multiple celebrity news stories that show just how far behind our world is with its views on the Queer community.
Earlier this week, international rapper DaBaby made homophobic comments live on stage.
Once his comments - speaking horrifically of Queer people living with HIV - left his mouth, they went viral across social platforms and saw the rapper subsequently ‘cancelled’ by his industry.
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