Demographics of the Trans Community

In 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a report calling for additional demographic [Page 179]information on gender minorities, noting that basic demographic data, “which are critical to understanding and meeting the needs of populations, are lacking for LGBTQ populations. From the data that are available, much more is known about lesbians and gay men than about bisexual and transgender people.” As detailed in the IOM’s report, a number of barriers have led to a relative absence of demographic research on trans people. This can be attributed to the limited academic and public attention paid to trans (i.e., not cis) people, as well as the related lack of representative data on trans people.

In recent years, however, demographers have begun to challenge gender-normative and heteronormative assumptions ...