2015 Trans Survey

Well my first comment is that the 2015 U.S, Transgender Survey was a connivance survey; first if you had access to computer you could take the survey and second it was a snowball survey meaning that people were not selected at random but were invited by emails, word of mouth, and social media.

Although the intention was to recruit a sample that was as representative as possible of transgender people in the U.S., it is important to note that respondents in this study were not randomly sampled and the actual population characteristics of transgender people in the U.S. are not known. Therefore, it is not appropriate to generalize the findings in this study to all transgender people.
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The main outreach objective was to provide opportunities to access the survey for as many transgender individuals as possible in different communities across the U.S. and its territories. Additionally, outreach efforts focused on reaching people who may have had limited access to the online platform and who were at increased risk of being underrepresented in such survey research. This included, but was not limited to, people of color, seniors, people residing in rural areas, and low-income individuals. The outreach strategy was a multi-pronged approach to a reach transgender people through various connections and points-of access, including transgender- or LGBTQ-specific organizations, support groups, health centers, and and online communities.

Working with a marginalized and physically diverse population it would be almost impossible to do a truly random sampling.

Okay, that being said, the survey was one of the largest surveys yet of the trans population with just under 28,000 respondents who took the survey and is going to be an important research tool for our community. As I read the report I will write about the areas of the report that I find interesting and informative (It is going to take a while for me to get through it because there are over 300 pages); today I am looking at the demographics of the survey respondents.

One interesting fact that popped out at me since I am a senior citizen was only 2% of the respondents were 65 and over compared to 19% in the general population.

As for individual incomes there were a few surprises there…

• No Income: 8% of the respondents said they had no income compared to 10% in the general population.
• Those earning over $100,000: 9% of the respondents said they had no income compared to 8% in the general population.

I would have expected the opposite, with trans people having a high percentage of no income and a lower percentage of those earning over $100,000. However, if you look at household income that is where the disparity is noticeable and they report…

Nearly one-third (29%) of respondents were living in poverty, nearly twice the poverty rate among the general U.S. adult population (14%)

While in education we are smarter than the general population. For those 18-24 years old,

• Some college (no degree)/Associate’s degree: 65% of the respondents compared to 46% in the general population and,
• Bachelor’s degree or higher: 17% of the respondents verses 10% in the general population.

And it is really noticeable in the respondents over 24 years old.

• Associates degree: 12% of the respondents compared to 8% in the general population and,
• Bachelor’s degree or higher: 32% of the respondents compared to 19% in the general population and,
• Graduate or professional degree: 21% of the respondents compared to 12% in the general population.

Wow! We have a much higher education than the general populations but at the same time we are earning much less!

Another interesting fact in the demographics was,

Respondents who were not U.S. citizens by birth were asked if they had ever applied for asylum in the United States. Seven percent (7%) applied for asylum, including 3% who applied on the basis of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Of those who did not apply for asylum, 51% reported that they did not need asylum in order to stay in the United States because they had access to other avenues for becoming citizens, permanent residents, or visa holders.47 Others respondents indicated that they did not know how to apply (17%) or did not apply for other reasons (Table 4.7).

Nearly half (48%) of respondents who applied for asylum received it. Another 32% did not receive asylum but instead received a “withholding of removal” status, an alternative form of relief that allows someone to stay in the United States under certain conditions. One in five (20%) of these respondents were denied asylum (Figure 4.27). Of the respondents who were denied asylum (n=11, unweighted),48 31% reported that they were denied asylum because they were past the one-year deadline, 44% indicated that it was because the immigration official decided that they did not face danger in their country of origin, and 25% reported that it was because of a reason not listed.

We are a diverse population when it comes to who we love,

Respondents were asked which terms best described their sexual orientation. Respondents were most likely to identify as queer (21%), and they also identified as pansexual (18%), gay, lesbian, or same-gender-loving (16%), straight (15%), bisexual (14%), and asexual (10%)

Hmm… I wonder how that compares with the general population?

Unfortunately, we are an unloved community.

Respondents were asked about their relationship status. Thirty-one percent (31%) were partnered and living together, 17% were partnered and not living together, 49% were single, 2% were in a polyamorous relationship, and 1% had a relationship status that was not listed. Respondents were also asked about their current legal marital status for the purpose of comparison to the U.S. adult population through the ACS. Eighteen percent (18%) of USTS respondents were currently married, in contrast to 52% in the U.S. adult population (Figure 4.29).49 Almost three quarters (72%) of respondents have never been married, which is more than twice as many as the U.S. adult population (30%).

Sunday, I will cover more demographics and start to delve into the discrimination that we face.