Including sexual orientation and gender identity in federal health data

via Danah Boyd, it seems the government is not taking gender identity or sexual orientation into account when it collects health data. Bill Jesdale writes,

But there is no nationally representative dataset that yet captures sexual orientation data, making it very difficult to do the kind of research I am most intereted in – looking at the impact of normative heterosexuality on health. Because most of the studies that do include sexual orientation data happen in States that are relatively friendly (VT, RI, MA, CA, WI, etc.), it is difficult to find a comparison group exposed to higher levels of societal homophobia.

I understand reservations about differentiating between different sexual orientations and gender identities when collecting this data — because research can be manipulated to make generalizations and downplay or ignore people’s individual experiences. (We discussed this in the comments to Courtney’s post on the New York Times Magazine piece on female desire.) But in order to advocate for big-picture solutions to address the ways LGBTQ folks are discriminated against in the health system, it would really help to know how widespread problems are. That’s where data come in — and why I ultimately think it’s a good idea to ask that info like gender identity and sexual orientation be included in data collection.
There’s already some movement in this direction:

Hats off to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) for initiating a “Dear Colleague” letter to ask the Senate to set aside $2M to ask questions about sexual orientation and gender identity on the National Health Interview Survey is a good start.

Now let’s get other senators to sign on. Do you live in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia or Wisconsin? More info on how to contact your senator, after the jump…

Below that is a short script for what to say. The Senate switchboard number is 1-202-224-3121, and though an operator answers 24 hours a day, calls during business hours (when you can speak to an actual Senate staffer) are particularly important. The sign-on deadline is Friday, so time is of the essence!
SENATE TARGETS
Barbara Boxer (CA)
Christopher Dodd (CT)
Ted Kaufman (DE)
John Kerry (MA)
Benjamin Cardin (MD)
Carl Levin (MI)
Debbie Stabenow (MI)
Max Baucus (MT)
Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
Charles Schumer (NY)
Sherrod Brown (OH)
Jeff Merkley (OR)
Robert Casey (PA)
Mark Warner (VA)
Jim Webb (VA)
Russ Feingold (WI)
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU CALL:
To contact your Senator, please call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121, tell them your state, and ask to speak to your Senator. When you are connected to your Senator’s office, ask for the staff member who works on Health and Human Services appropriations.
Whether you are talking to a person or a machine, you can be very brief and to the point. Tell them, “I am a constituent who supports appropriating an additional $2 million for the National Health Interview Survey. I want Senator [NAME] to sign on to Senator Whitehouse’s letter and support LGBT data collection. Please call Jordanna Davis in Senator Whitehouse’s office to sign on to his appropriations letter.”