Decolonising Indigenous Health Research Requires Redefining Sex, Sexuality and Gender

LGBTQA+SB (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, asexual, Sistergirl and Brotherboy) participants are rarely identified in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research data, resulting in persistent gaps in the literature. In this article, we briefly explore the implications of LGBTQA+SB erasure in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research for decolonisation, policy and practice. We outline approaches to collecting quantitative data, examples of Indigenous research that did identify LGBTQA+SB participants and potential challenges for data collection. Ultimately, we argue that decolonisation requires re-thinking how we define sex, sexuality and gender, unsettling Western biomedical norms that are pervasive in health research.