Parents have expressed concern after schoolchildren were asked how they would 'define their gender' as part of a government survey.
The survey was developed by the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England for pupils between 13 and 18. It was distributed throughout schools in Brighton and Hove.
The responses, the questionnaire stated, could "be used in Government reports, presentations and publications".
But the survey was reportedly withdrawn, after the Daily Mail asked Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield’s office about it.
Schoolchildren 'confused'
As part of the questionnaire, children were asked to choose from 22 'gender types', or given the additional options "not sure", "rather not say" and "others, please state".
'Gender types' listed included "gender non conforming", "tri-gender" and "gender fluid".
The children were also asked whether they felt safe in single-sex toilets, as well as whether they thought their school ought to have unisex uniforms.
Parents of children at Blatchington Mill School in Hove criticised the move, saying the survey was "unnecessary" and "confusing" to teenagers already going through a challenging stage of life.
According to the Mail, a spokesman for the children's commissioner's office said that the questionnaire was a 'draft' that had not been approved by the commissioner, and that some of the questions would be withdrawn before the final version was disbursed.
Anne Longfield, OBE said: "We want to know how gender matters to young people: what does gender mean to them; how does it affect their lives; what do they want to change?"
'Exploitation of children'
Patricia Morgan, author of The Marriage Files, said that the survey was "obviously biased. It amounts to the exploitation of children for the purposes of gender pressure groups."
Christian Concern's Campaigns Director Andrew Marsh spoke about the survey on Talk2Me Radio this afternoon. Andrew said that the questionnaire was part of a "fast-moving agenda…to rip up the landscape and the markers in the areas of gender and sex – gender identity – and to redraw the map completely".
He drew a parallel between young people facing these types of issues and people with eating disorders. Would we, Andrew asked, encourage someone with anorexia to starve themselves or support them in getting surgery that would allow them to lose further weight? Of course not.
In the same way, he said, we should help those who feel a tension between their identity and "the reality of their physical body" by helping them to "be comfortable in their skin and to…come to a point where they can celebrate and enjoy their God-given sex or gender."
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Related Coverage:
Children as young as 13 to be asked whether they are 'gender fluid', 'demi-girl' or 'intersex' (Mail)
Government asks schoolchildren to define their gender - and gives them 24 options to choose from (Telegraph)
Brighton school children asked to choose from list of 23 terms to describe their gender (The Argus)