Table 6.

Recommendations for sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) questions

For all SOGI measures

Questions should allow, acknowledge, and normalize fluidity and complexity of people’s identities

SOGI questions should attend to cultural, regional, and linguistic variations between racial and ethnic groups

SOGI answer choices should be conceptualized as nominal categories, similar to race/ethnicity to better attend to diversity and complexity of identities

Include write-in answer choices in whatever domain of SO or GI is being assessed

Participants should have the option to select more than one answer choice and be prompted to do so with “select all that apply”

For sexual orientation (SO) measures

When feasible, assess all three dimensions of sexuality including attractions, behaviors, and identity(ies)

Be specific about the dimension of SO being assessed, specifically as it refers to sexual attraction, romantic attraction, sexual behavior, or internal sexual self-identification

Provide a diverse range of responses for SO questions, including asexual, pansexual, queer, and fluid

For gender identity (GI) measures

Provide a diverse range of responses for GI questions, including gender non-conforming, non-binary, and genderfluid

Be specific about the dimension of GI being assessed, specifically as it refers to gender expression, current/prior anatomy, birth sex assignment, or internal GI

Use a two-step approach of including one question to assess current GI and a second question to assess sex assigned at birth

Display both GI and sex assigned at birth questions simultaneously and/or include introductory text that notes both GI and sex assigned at birth will be assessed