Stop this absurdity

IF WE no longer record how many of us are male and female in the census (Mail), Britain will have lost the plot.

It’s worrying enough that vociferous transgender lobbyists are trying to alter the nature of the way the world has existed since time immemorial.

But when the Office for National Statistics proposes to stop asking people on census forms whether they are male or female, it has reached a new level of absurdity.

It’s also disturbing that the Government’s Equalities Minister, Justine Greening, has suggested that gender should be ‘ an option’. Allowing people to change their gender at will without good medical reason can only lead to confusion and disaster and, in due course, upset the natural balance of society.

Schools and retailers are also jumping on the bandwagon, with gender-neutral toilets and clothing ranges. How can young children be expected to understand and cope with such matters?

One has sympathy with the tiny minority who are genuinely confused by their birth gender, but surely this is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog? It’s about time for some common sense. DAVID MORGAN, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. IN ANSWER to the census question as to whether I am ‘male/female/ other’, I reply Wallach (the German for gelding). I am not, but I am eagerly awaiting a call from a puzzled official to check on the validity of my answer. PAUL SHIPMAN, Broughton Astley, Leics. I ANSWER the census question about sex with: ‘Not much, lately.’ MAURICE BLIGH, Sittingbourne, Kent.