After four months in the field, the first comprehensive national community survey of LGBTQ+ womxn who center and partner with women has compiled survey data from more than 5,500 participants. The survey can still be taken. The survey link can be found and shared at www.lgbtqwomensurvey.org and the deadline for participation has been extended to March 31, 2022.
“This survey’s findings will help our movement develop organizing, advocacy, policy ideas, services and support for queer womxn who partner with other womxn,” said Urvashi Vaid, Director of Justice Work, the think tank that is conducting the study.
“We are continuing to connect within our diverse communities to gather the testimonies of lesbian, gay, bi, pan, trans, and non-binary womxn who partner with women and the findings will show how gender, race, economics, ability, geographic location, parenting, and so many more factors impact the lives of queer women,” continued Vaid.
Senior Researcher on the project and Emory University sociology professor, Dr. Alyasah Ali Sewell, explained: “We needed to gather a team that would speak to our commitment to serving the community through this research and are very much looking forward to analyzing the data to better understand the needs of LGBTQ+ women.”
Dr. Sewell continued, “We are striving to have not just the largest repository of current community data on womxn and non-binary people who partner with womxn, but the most ethnoracially and economically diverse data as well.”
The study is supported by a group of veteran activists and researchers that include, Minneapolis Councilwoman Andrea Jenkins, First Nations Collective Founder Coya White Hat-Artichoker, and University of Chicago Professor and founder of the Black Youth Project, Dr. Cathy Cohen, Dean Spade, Seattle University Law School Professor, trans scholar and activist, and founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Dr. Bianca Wilson and Dr. Lee Badgett at the Williams Institute at UCLA. A diverse mix of grassroots organizations including leading LGBTQ Centers around the country, and key national partners like National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National LGBTQ Task Force, social media influencers and diverse promoters and media partners like Rivendell Media are supporting the project to reach out to queer communities nation-wide.
COVID restrictions have made it difficult for the study team to mount in-person events to support participation in the survey, but the team is planning opportunities to connect in person in the coming months including early 2022.
Research +Director, Dr. Jaime Grant noted: “We will be out in force at the National LGBTQ Task Force’s upcoming Creating Change Conference, talking to folks about the importance of this study to resetting movement priorities to serve LGBTQ+ women and continue to reach out via social media, media and organizational and personal networks.”
To learn more about the study, or take the survey, go to www.lgbtqwomensurvey.org