Children as young as 13 have been invited to describe their gender as any one of 25 different options in a Government-backed survey. The choices put before teenagers in research for the Children’s Commissioner for England include ‘gender fluid’, ‘demi-girl’ and ‘tri-gender’. The list of alternatives is being offered to children as part of a campaign to ‘find out how gender matters to young people’. Youngsters are also asked whether they feel safe using single-sex toilets, and if their school should have unisex ones instead.
Other questions include whether their school should have just one unisex uniform. The research, described by one of its authors as ‘committed to feminist methodologies’, was condemned by critics who said it was biased and politically motivated. Yesterday Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield withdrew the survey after the Daily Mail asked her office about it. A spokesman said the version that had been distributed was ‘a draft’ and had not been cleared by the Commissioner. A new version will be prepared with some questions withdrawn. FULL REPORT
