‘A watershed moment for putting LGBTQ+ people on the map’

In the once-in-a-decade data gathering survey, the 2021 Census results officially includes LGBTQ+ people in our national story.

In Bristol, over six per cent of people are not heterosexual, and just over three per cent of the South West declared themselves as gay or lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual and queer. This is nearly double the national average of 3.2 per cent of the population who say they are a sexual identity that is not straight.

It is a watershed moment, decades in the making, for putting LGBTQ+ people on the map, a community shunned from census data for two centuries.

Activists have campaigned for 20 years for the mass national survey to ask about sexual orientation and identity, with Canada the only other country in the world to have released data around the gender identity of its citizens so far.

Before this, there were no robust figures on the number of LGBTQ+ people in England and Wales, including a stark lack of data on the size of minoritised groups within queer populations.

A map of Bristol’s LGBTQ+ people – image: ONS

Now a fascinating map and reams of data released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that people within every single local authority are part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Nationally, more than 43.4 million people (89 per cent) identified as heterosexual, a decrease from previous ONS estimates of 93.6 per cent. That surge is not accident, but because increased social acceptance has allowed queer people to be open about their sexuality, with less fear of judgement or harm.

Look south west and the fluidity of Bristol’s sexuality is apparent, with more bisexual and pansexual people counted than gay or lesbian people.

People can even delve into hyper-local data through a new interactive map that reveals exactly how gay your area is. In our city, Centre & Harbourside comes up trumps with 12.8 per cent identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or other.

The urban rural split in queer communities was also uncovered, suggesting queer people leave rural communities and small towns in favour of major cities. Unsurprisingly, London, Manchester and Brighton all have high numbers of non-straight people.

Bristol is no exception to this, with surrounding counties of North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire recording much lower numbers than the city of Bristol.

Trans people represent half a per cent of the population in England and Wales – photo: Rob Browne

The census also gave one of the most detailed breakdowns of the number of trans people living in England and Wales, revealing for the first time how many transgender people live here. According to the census, trans people represent half a per cent of the population.

It’s a tiny minority for a group who, if the census is to be believed, comprise just 48,000 people, yet they face cruel and obsessive coverage in the media and political debate.

Only in November, reports arose that prime minister Rishi Sunak planned to remove transgender people from protection under the 2010 Equality Act, and exclude them from a proposed ban of conversion therapy. The UK government is also considering blocking Scotland’s new self-identification law that will make it easier for trans people to change their legal gender.

So much is at stake in counting LGBTQ+ identities. By finally counting us, LGBTQ+ lives are made visible and demystified, helping to tackle discrimination, improve decisions made about health care, education, employment, housing and social services.

The data has been marked as a “historic step forward” by the charity Stonewall after more than two centuries of LGBT+ lives being “missing from the national record”.

In Bristol, we are lucky to have such a thriving and prominent LGBTQ+ community. We have queer-owned businesses, charities supporting LGBTQ+ people, a Pride day which attracts thousands and now we are accounted for within national statistics.

As crucial as the data and the opportunities it presents are, however, the census should not be overstated. There is a vast amount of trans misrepresentation in the media, anxiety and depression remains rife among the community, discrimination continues and homophobic hate crimes are officially rising.

However, there is undeniably much to celebrate looking at this census and I feel enormous joy being able to have my sexuality made visible.

Main photo: Rob Browne

Read next:

• Pride parade returns to streets of Bristol
• Reclaiming ‘butch’: A new night for dancing freely and letting go
• Ensuring all communities fill in the 2021 census

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