Why schools must teach kids about gender identity

Schools in England will no longer be allowed to tell children about gender identity. There will be two sexes: male and female. That is if the government gets its way, following a consultation on the teaching of relationships and sex education launched yesterday. Gillian Keegan said that the draft guidance ‘specifies that the contested topic of gender identity should not be taught’.

However, while the Secretary of State for Education might be able to specify what is taught in schools – this will be statutory guidance applicable to all schools in England – Keegan has no hold over what social media influencers upload to their channels. Misinformation proliferates on the internet, and gender identity is no exception.

The draft statutory guidance mentions gender identity only four more times, after the introductory remarks by Keegan:

• ‘Schools should not teach about the broader concept of gender identity. Gender identity is a highly contested and complex subject… Many people do not consider that they or others have a separate gender identity.