The @ONS have decided that it's no longer possible to ask people simply what their sex is, even though this has been asked in every census since forever. Women have used the resulting data to prove that we face ongoing and widespread discrimination, at large and small scales 1/10

The people making decisions about the census, however, have been persuaded that some (unknown number of) people won't respond to the census at all if they have to answer this very basic factual question. 2/10
They have therefore changed the guidance so that an unknown number of people are advised to answer it according to their 'official documents' - which may contradict each other. Since it's easily possible to change the sex marker on a passport or driving licence 3/10
just by asking for it to be changed, this guidance effectively means that (an unknown number of) people unhappy about their biological sex are advised to answer the sex question however they choose. 4/10
The most immediately damaging impact of this decision will be on trans people. It means the opportunity to gather robust data from the new gender identity question in the same census is lost. We will not be able to tell how many trans people are male or female. 5/10
Authorities seeking a basis on which to plan, for example, health care for trans people, won't have the data they need. But the impact on women is more profound. This is the result of a decades-long effort to delegitimise sex as a relevant factor in social policy. 6/10
Read this report, and its appendix, to understand how this was done https://t.co/1rsEXeIAik
Without sex as a category, how can we see sexism? If sex is unimportant, why would domestic violence, rape, or abortion be women's issues? 7/10
And this is how we have local government officials making tick-box decisions that remove funding from experienced, trusted, women's organisations like @riseuk. Women in Brighton who've relied on this service over years are in bits today because women's expertise isn't valued 8/10
Services like @riseuk were created by women, for women. They should not be subject to some technocratic process of switching to a new provider https://t.co/iriLMWLSDH
9/10
Whose interests does it serve to pretend we don't know what sex we are? Not those of women, not lesbians & gay men, and not trans people either. If you take away the means to analyse our oppression, you make it harder to resist. #WomenCountSoCountWomen
10/10
Further thoughts on this:
https://t.co/zf1FXS8pHZ

More from Society

So, as the #MegaMillions jackpot reaches a record $1.6B and #Powerball reaches $620M, here's my advice about how to spend the money in a way that will truly set you, your children and their kids up for life.

Ready?

Create a private foundation and give it all away. 1/

Let's stipulate first that lottery winners often have a hard time. Being publicly identified makes you a target for "friends" and "family" who want your money, as well as for non-family grifters and con men. 2/

The stress can be damaging, even deadly, and Uncle Sam takes his huge cut. Plus, having a big pool of disposable income can be irresistible to people not accustomed to managing wealth.
https://t.co/fiHsuJyZwz 3/

Meanwhile, the private foundation is as close as we come to Downton Abbey and the landed aristocracy in this country. It's a largely untaxed pot of money that grows significantly over time, and those who control them tend to entrench their own privileges and those of their kin. 4

Here's how it works for a big lotto winner:

1. Win the prize.
2. Announce that you are donating it to the YOUR NAME HERE Family Foundation.
3. Receive massive plaudits in the press. You will be a folk hero for this decision.
4. Appoint only trusted friends/family to board. 5/

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