The council in Brighton and Hove has been criticised this week after giving children as young as four years old, the opportunity to have a say over their gender.
As school places were confirmed for September, parents of the nursery received a letter from the council asking them to support their child in choosing the gender they ‘most identify with.’ The form asked parents to support their child’s personal choice over gender, allowing them to identify with being male or female; or to leave the box blank if their child had another ‘gender identity.’
The council received criticism for its move yet defended their actions by stating it was a response to the request of families. The letter read “We recognise that all children and young people identify with the gender they were assigned at birth or may identify as a gender other than male or female, however the current systems (set nationally) only record gender as male or female. Please support your child to choose the gender they most identify with.”
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen stated “schools should be teaching kids to read and write, not prompting them to consider gender swaps.”
Head of Brighton’s equalities committee, Cllr Emma Daniel, has said she is aware of the concerns yet highlighted the need for inclusion.
She said “We have inserted the additional text about gender identity in response to calls from families, young people and schools to show an inclusive approach. There are increasing numbers of children and young people nationally identifying as trans.”
She added “We will review this to see whether we can make it clearer that we consider discussions around gender identity to be an option for parents rather than an obligation.”
What is your opinion? Do you feel that children should be given a choice to express their feelings about their own gender at a young age?