We will begin by discussing these terms in the context of nonbinary identity, before exploring how these terms have performed in the Gender Census.
We will also use a pairing analysis to determine the other words most commonly chosen by respondents who selected these terms.
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Section: Discussion
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Most people have a gender that is either exclusively male or female.
But some people have a gender that isn’t exclusively male or female, and they’re known as nonbinary.
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So what are Man, Woman, Boy, and Girl doing in a survey of nonbinary genders?
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While these terms aren’t inherently nonbinary genders, they can be part of someone’s larger nonbinary identity.
You may have encountered the compound terms Nonbinary Man, Nonbinary Woman, Nonbinary Trans Man, or Nonbinary Trans Woman.
One of the ways you could interpret these compound terms is that someone has a gender that’s between male and female, but closer to one side or the other.
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What about demiboy and demigirl?
We will discuss those terms in the next article. We already have more than enough on our plate for today.
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For reasons I will explore in this article and the next, I consider Man, Woman, Boy, and Girl to be valid choices in the Gender Census.
Examining the other words most commonly chosen by respondents who selected these terms will help determine whether or not this is true.
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Whether you consider these options to be right or wrong answers, within the context of the Gender Census, could affect how you interpret the results we will discuss in this article, and the ones that follow.
While I believe they are correct answers, it might be worth keeping both possibilities in mind for now.
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First, we’ll examine the performance of Woman and Girl in the Gender Census.
Next, we’ll examine the performance of Man and Boy in the survey.
Then, we’ll explore the other identities most commonly chosen by respondents who selected Woman, Girl, Man, and Boy.
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Section: Woman
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The wording of the checkbox for woman has changed several times in the Gender Census.
Woman appeared as a checkbox in the Gender Census from 2015 to 2023.
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In 2015, “Woman” appeared as a checkbox, and “Girl” did not.
From 2016 to 2019, the checkbox was “Woman (or girl if younger)”.
From 2020 to 2022, Woman and Girl appeared as separate checkboxes.
In 2023, “Woman” appeared as a checkbox, and “Girl” did not.
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Woman has appeared in the Gender Census, in one form or another, nine times.
Its minimum was 10.6% in 2021, and its maximum was 15.6% in 2015.
Woman’s average is 12.7%, and woman’s range is 5%.
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This ongoing thread can be read as an article on my blog, Meticulous Musings.
https://jasonbeets.blogspot.com/2026/01/man-and-woman-boy-and-girl.html
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Section: Girl
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Girl appeared, on its own, in the Gender Census, three times, from 2020 to 2022.
In 2020, Girl received 9.1%.
In 2021, Girl received 9.7%.
In 2022, Girl received 11.1%.
Girl’s average is 10%.
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Section: Woman and Girl
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Woman performed better than girl in two of the three years when they appeared as separate checkbox options in the Gender Census.
Girl performed better than woman in one of the three years when they appeared as separate checkboxes.
In the three years girl appeared as a separate checkbox, woman was chosen by a smaller percentage of respondents than in other years.
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Section: Man
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The wording of the checkbox for man has changed several times in the Gender Census.
Man appeared as a checkbox in the Gender Census from 2015 to 2023.
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In 2015, “Man” appeared as a checkbox, and “Boy” did not.
From 2016 to 2019, the checkbox was “Man (or boy if younger)”.
From 2020 to 2022, Man and Boy appeared as separate checkboxes.
In 2023, “Man” appeared as a checkbox, and “Boy” did not.
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Man has appeared in the Gender Census, in one form or another, nine times.
Man’s minimum was 7.6% in 2016.
Man’s maximum was 16.1% in 2023.
Man’s average is 10.5%, and Man’s range is 8.5%.
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Section: Boy
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Boy appeared as a checkbox, on its own, in the Gender Census, three times, from 2020 to 2022.
In 2020, Boy received 9.5%.
In 2021, Boy received 11%.
In 2022, Boy received 14.7%.
Boy’s average is 11.7%.
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If you enjoy this thread, consider supporting my blog, Meticulous Musings, on Patreon.
https://www.patreon.com/cw/MeticulousMusings
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Section: Boy and Man
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Boy was chosen by a larger percentage of respondents than Man in the three years the terms appeared separately in the Gender Census.
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Section: All Together Now
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Now, let’s compare the performance for Man, Woman, Boy, and Girl, all on a single graph.
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All four terms have consistently received between 7% and 17% in the Gender Census.
Man has both the lowest minimum and the largest maximum, among the four terms.
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Boy performed better than Girl in each of the three years they appeared in the survey.
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Woman outperformed Man seven times, from 2015 to 2021.
Man outperformed Woman twice, in 2022 and 2023.
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Section: Woman Pairing Analysis
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Next, let’s examine the terms that were most commonly chosen by respondents who also selected Woman in the 2023 Gender Census, the last time Woman appeared as a checkbox.
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56.1% of Woman respondents identified as queer.
54.1% of Woman respondents identified as nonbinary.
Therefore, majorities of Woman respondents identified as queer and nonbinary.
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44% of Woman respondents identified as, “a person / human / [my name] / ‘I’m just me.’”
43.2% of Woman respondents identified as gender non-conforming.
40.6% of Woman respondents identified as trans.
Therefore, large minorities of Woman respondents identified as “a person…”, gender non-conforming, and trans.
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Woman respondents were less likely than Gender Census respondents as a whole to identify as nonbinary and trans.
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Section: Girl Pairing Analysis
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Next, let’s examine the terms most commonly chosen by respondents who selected Girl in the 2022 Gender Census, the most recent survey where it appeared as a checkbox.
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62% of Girl respondents identified as queer.
60.3% of Girl respondents identified as nonbinary.
Therefore, majorities of Girl respondents identified as queer and nonbinary.
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47% of Girl respondents identified as women.
44.6% of Girl respondents identified as trans.
40.9% of Girl respondents identified as transgender.
40.4% of Girl respondents identified as gender non-conforming.
Therefore, large minorities of Girl respondents identified as women, trans, transgender, and gender non-conforming.
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Girl respondents were significantly more likely to identify as women than Gender Census respondents as a whole.
Girl respondents were less likely to identify as nonbinary than Gender Census respondents as a whole.
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Section: Man Pairing Analysis
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Now, let’s examine the terms most likely to be chosen by respondents who also selected Man in the 2023 Gender Census, the most recent survey where it appeared as a checkbox.
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72.6% of Man respondents identified as trans.
68.1% of Man respondents identified as transgender.
65.7% of Man respondents identified as transmasculine.
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60.1% of Man respondents identified as queer.
54% of Man respondents identified as nonbinary.
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Therefore, majorities of Man respondents identified as trans, transgender, transmasculine, queer, and nonbinary.
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49.6% of man respondents identified as gender non-conforming.
41.5% of man respondents identified as fags.
40.4% of man respondents selected “a person / human / [my name] / ‘I’m just me.’ ”
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Therefore, large minorities of man respondents identified as gender non-conforming, fags, and “a person…”
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Man respondents were significantly more likely to identify as transmasculine, transgender, trans, and fags, than Gender Census respondents as a whole.
Man respondents were less likely to identify as nonbinary and “a person…” than Gender Census respondents as a whole.
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Section: Boy Pairing Analysis
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Now, let’s examine the terms most commonly selected by respondents who also selected Boy in the 2022 Gender Census, the last survey where it appeared as a checkbox.
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68.8% of Boy respondents identified as trans.
66.5% of Boy respondents identified as transmasculine.
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65.8% of Boy respondents identified as queer.
65.3% of Boy respondents identified as nonbinary.
64.5% of Boy respondents identified as transgender.
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Therefore, majorities of Boy respondents identified as trans, transmasculine, queer, nonbinary, transgender, and gender non-conforming.
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44.8% of Boy respondents identified as men.
40.8% of Boy respondents identified as genderqueer.
Therefore, large minorities of Boy respondents identified as men and genderqueer.
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Boy respondents were significantly more likely to identify as transmasculine, men, trans, and transgender, than Gender Census respondents as a whole.
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This ongoing thread can be read as an article on my blog, Meticulous Musings.
https://jasonbeets.blogspot.com/2026/01/man-and-woman-boy-and-girl.html
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Section: What have we learned?
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Jason Beets