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LEXINGTON GAY/LESBIAN SERVICES ORGANIZATION, P. 0. BOX TT47I, LEXINGTON, KY 40575
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THE T990 CENSUS AND US
from Ivy Youn , director of NGLTF's
Lesbian & gay Families Project
As you can see, 1990 ends in a zero. That involves more than a simple check off. The
means it's time for the decennial count, by the issue of government intrusion and rivacy is 0
Census Bureau, of the entire population. crucial one for many lesbians and) gay men;
Ordinarily, the Census Bureau ritual would yet, census officials have made no effort to
be of little or no consequence to the lesbian counter the fear and apprehension that could
and gay community. But his year things are lead to a serious undercount of same-sex
slightly different. Unlike past national counts, couples.
the 1990 census could have a direct impact on Given the Census Bureau's negligence, lack
some of the issues affecting lesbians and gay of forethou ht, and apparent disregard of the
men. lesbian ang gay community, what are our
For the first time ever, the Census Bureau options regarding the 1990 Census?
has added the category "unmarried partner" to For some activists in our community, the
the relationshi section of the questionnaire. answer is a simple one: boycott the i990
Expanding the selection choice beyond Census. Their rationale is basicoll the criticisms
"roommate/partner" or "roomer/boarder", the outlined above; a serious lack of, outreach by
new category is, according to some sources, the the Census Bureau, coupled with a deep-seated
Bureau’s attempt to get an accurate count of the concern over confidentiality, will lead to a gross
number of heterosexual couples living together undercount and a skewed statistical profile.
without "benefit of marriage.’ Unfortunately, this issue is more complex,
Be sim le deduction, however, Census and requires more than a simple solution.
officials wifi also be able to determine the Whether we choose to answer or not, the
number of same—sex cou les living together in question is on the survey. Statistics will be
committed relationships. That same-sex coupled gathered, no matter what. Whether we choose
information will be published alon with the to answer or not, we will be living with the
statistics on heterosexual unmarrieg partners. results of the census for the next decade. Public
For those of us working in the lesbian and gay and private industry programs are affected by
families arena, that information could prove vital census data; social and economic policy Is
to the success of our efforts in the future. guided by that same data; legislative agendas
The Census Bureau has been roundly are set, initiatives launched, and priorities
criticized for its failure to alert affected groups determined by the numbers gathered. If we
that the question even exists, or, for that matter, choose to deliberately absent ourselves from this
what "unmarried partner" actuall means. process, if we elect to ”disappear" what
There has been no outreach effort, no advantage do we gain?
community education, no discussion with lesbian Some lesbian and gay activists have
and gay activists in particular, about how best predicted that as few as ten percent of those
to ensure that the question is understood and couple affected by the "unmarried partner"
answered accurately. question will respond honestly. But a recent
The Census Bureau does not perceive, or poll conducted by the »Washin ton Bfade found
more likely, does not care that for lesbian and that of the couples res ndging, seventy-five
gay couples answering the survey honestly percent said they fCoontinued on Page 2]