2. Everyone will *Still be Counted as Female or Male*, Even if You Leave the Binary Question Blank and Insert Comments.

Wait, what?

Yup, everyone will still be counted as female or male, no matter what.

This sounds bad, but could actually be very useful for trans people who want to be counted as female or male and also want to be including in the data analysis related to trans and intersex demographics in Canada. By boycotting question E-two and opting to write a comment indicating that you wish to be classified as female or male but identify as [trans, non-binary, genderqueer, etc] you could still be flagged for question E-two analysis but will be counted within a binary population. Yay!

For people not wishing to be classified as male or female at all, it looks bleak. Since creating a third sex/gender category for analysis takes a massive amount of time and work, Statistics Canada simply can't do it for this Census. A data analyser will probably try to simplify you into the binary for analysis by methods described below. It's best to be very clear in your comments as to how you identify and want to be classified. This method is flawed, to say the least, and the most radical action you can do is to lobby Statistics Canada to change this through your response.



***It is recommended that your comments read something like this: ***

"I opted to leave question e-two blank as I identify as [insert sex/gender identity or identities]. If you must, classify me as [pick one: female, male] for analysis and update the 2021 Census to be completely non-binary and to have new gender/sex categories."

To clarify: non-binary people should never be asked to pick between a binary and if doing so makes you uncomfortable, then don't do it. Be aware that everyone will be quantified within a binary though, and by following that format you hold more power over your identity and the demographics of Canada until the system is updated.