Campus Pride releases report for Transgender Day of Remembrance

In advance of Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, Campus Pride today published new reportThe Changing Nature of Gender in the 21st Century: How Trans and Nonbinary Students Applying to College Today Self-Identify.

The research project analyzes the largest body of data on the gender identities of incoming college students that has ever been available. The report is produced by Campus Pride and written by Dr. Genny Beemyn (they/them), Coordinator of Campus Pride’s Trans Policy Clearinghouse and Director of the Stonewall Center at UMass Amherst, who was given exclusive access by the Common App to analyze the data on gender identity and pronouns – and the intersections with racial identity and first-generation status – of more than a million students who filled out the application during the Fall 2022 college admissions cycle. 

At Campus Pride’s urging over the last decade, the Common App has made significant changes to the online admissions form used by more than 1,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. annually by adding optional questions on gender identity and pronouns as part of an ongoing effort to create a more equitable and inclusive admissions process. 

“The number of students openly identifying as trans and nonbinary has grown dramatically in the last few years,” said Beemyn. “As nonbinary people become more visible and gain greater acceptance in society, the number of trans youth, especially nonbinary young people, will most certainly continue to increase.

“For colleges that use the Common App, they will now have information about how many of their incoming students identify their gender and pronouns, as well as the first names they go by, to populate students’ campus records. The goal for all colleges should be that no student is misnamed or misgendered by the institution in areas within its control, including mail, email, and in-person communications; course rosters and advisee lists; housing assignments; online directories; ID cards; and diplomas,” added Beemyn. 

Highlights from the report include:

• Of the more than 1.22 million students who filled out the Common App for Fall 2022 college admission, 2.2% (more than 26,300 students) identified as trans or nonbinary, and of these students, 83.3% indicated a nonbinary identity.
• Students of color were less likely than white students to identify as trans or nonbinary (2.18% vs. 2.42%) but were slightly more likely than the sample overall (2.18% vs. 2.15%) because far fewer international students (referred to on the Common App as “nonresident alien” students) indicated being trans or nonbinary (1.04%) than the racial groups residing in the U.S.
• Just over 3% of the students who filled out the Common App (36,841 individuals) referred to themselves using pronouns beyond just “she/her” or “he/him.” More than 96.5% of these students wanted to be referred to at least some of the time by “they/them.” 
• More than 75% of the students who went by more than just “she/her” or “he/him” used multiple sets of pronouns for themselves, and these pronoun sets sometimes included neopronouns. The students provided about 75 different neopronouns, resulting in their use of about 145 different pronoun sets. 
• The greatest racial difference in pronoun use among the nonbinary respondents was between U.S. and international (“nonresident alien”) students. The international students were significantly more likely than their U.S. peers to continue to go by the pronouns assigned to them at birth (i.e., “she/her” or “he/him”) and were far less likely to use only “they/them” pronouns (38.3% vs. 50.4%). 
• Trans students do not always indicate the names and pronouns they go by and their gender identities on the Common App or recognize their trans identities or come out until after they enter college, so colleges need to have a simple process for students to add or change their names, pronouns, and gender markers on campus records. 
• Colleges that use their own admission application rather than the Common App should be asking optional questions on the names and pronouns that students go by and their gender identities and then incorporating this information into students’ campus records. 

“Campus Pride applauds the Common App in its evolution to be more equitable and inclusive in college admissions applications,” said Shane Windmeyer (he/they), Founder, CEO & Executive Director of Campus Pride. “Collecting data around gender identity represents a more holistic, intersectional approach to all students and allows campuses to take responsibility for trans and nonbinary students. At a time when trans youth are being targeted across the country in the most inhumane ways, this new report sends a clear message that trans people deserve recognition, respect – and, most importantly, their inclusion and safety matters. Campus Pride is proud to partner with the Common App and its members to wholeheartedly support these efforts to create a more equitable admissions process.” 

Download the full report online at www.CampusPride.org/Research.