The Scottish National Party has come under fire for releasing a list of 24 genders that people can choose from when their government is collecting personal data. This comes just months after its leader, John Swinney, went on record saying that he believed there were only two genders while adding that “people will debate and discuss that.”
The new list is part of the document titled Sex, Gender Identity, Trans Status — Data Collection and Publication: Guidance, crafted by the government’s chief statistician, Roger Halliday.
He wrote that, “in putting together this guidance I have … rooted the work in a set of widely accepted statistical principles.” He added: “Whilst the concepts behind definitions are important, so too is having data that is high quality, and can be used to drive changes and improvements that will save time, money and lives — for the benefit of everyone.”
The definitions are contained in a supporting document. “This spreadsheet provides a coding framework for free text responses received in response to the question on trans status or trans history,” it states. “Respondents who answer ‘Yes’ to the question ‘Do you consider yourself to be trans, or have a trans history?’ are asked the follow-up question ‘If you would like to, please describe your trans status.”
The options — after Cisgender: “Denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth; not transgender” — are as follows.
Trans man — A person who was registered as female at birth but who lives and identifies as a man.
Trans woman — A person who was registered as male at birth but who lives and identifies as a woman.
Non-binary — A gender identity that does not conform to traditional binary beliefs about gender.
Trans: not otherwise specified — A person whose gender identity does not correspond with the sex registered for them at birth.
Agender — A person who does not identify as having a gender.
Trans masculine — People who were assigned female at birth but identify more with a masculine identity.
Trans feminine — People who were assigned male at birth but identify more with a feminine identity.
Genderfluid — A person who does not identify as having a single unchanging gender.
Genderqueer — A gender identity that is other than male or female, or a combination.
Questioning — A person who is in the process of figuring out how to describe and label their gender identity.
Intersex — People born with physical sex characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of male or female.
Assigned female at birth: not specified — Refers to a person who was assigned the sex of female at birth.
Assigned male at birth: not specified — Refers to a person who was assigned the sex of male at birth.
Pangender — A gender identity that is not limited to one gender.
Bigender — A person whose gender identity encompasses two genders.
Autigender — An autistic person (who) thinks about and relates to their gender label — or lack of gender label — in the context of autism.
Androgynous — Individuals who have a blend of both masculine and feminine characteristics.
Gender non-confirming — A person whose behaviour or appearance does not conform to prevailing cultural and social expectations about what is appropriate to their gender.
Detransitioned — The cessation or reversal of a transgender identification or of gender transition, temporarily or permanently.
Neutral — Individuals who have a neutral gender identity or expressions.
Demigender: female — Someone who only partially (not wholly) identifies as a girl or woman.
Demigender: male — Someone who only partially (not wholly) identifies as a boy or man.
Demigender: not otherwise specified — Nonbinary gender identities that have a partial connection to a certain gender.
Swinney, whose title is first minister, was confirmed as the new leader of the SNP on May 6, taking over from Humza Yousaf. He led the party into the U.K.’s general election in July, in which the SNP won just nine seat, a loss of 29 seats from 2019.
Days before the election, on a call-in radio show hosted by Nicky Campbell, Swinney was asked point-blank by the BBC broadcaster: “How many genders are there?”
After a long silence and some stumbling he replied: “Well, I think people will debate and discuss that. From my point of view, there’s the male and the female gender.”
Author J.K. Rowling was quick to weigh in on the matter, taking to social media to joke that there would soon be 336 “astro-identities” tied to astrology, including “Person whose astro-identity doesn’t match the sign they were assigned at birth (NON-Twelver).”
Scottish Conservative shadow equalities minister Tess White remarked: “Wasting time and resources on this shows how disconnected the SNP government are from the real world and why people are sick of politicians at Holyrood failing to focus on issues that concern them.”
She added: “The SNP need to stop playing to the minority and start governing for the majority by showing common sense and focussing on the real priorities of the people of Scotland.”
Swinney also voted in favour of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, which would have allowed Scots to change their legally recognized sex by signing a declaration. It was passed by the Scottish Parliament in December of 2022 but was later blocked by the U.K. government from receiving royal assent.
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