Danger of changing the law to protect self-proclaimed ‘gender identity’

SIR – The debate on how to protect the rights of those with gender dysphoria is not likely to abate soon. A Bill now going through Parliament proposes to change the protected characteristic in equalities legislation from “gender reassignment” to “gender identity”. It is called the Gender Identity (Protected Characteristic) Bill.

“Gender identity” is a hazy concept based on society’s view of the social roles of men and women, so it cannot be properly defined. “Gender reassignment” is a medical procedure at a particular place and time.

The change to be made by the Bill would allow anyone to claim that they are of the opposite sex merely on their own say-so, with no verification by a psychiatrist or medical professional.

This change would have extremely damaging consequences, especially for women at work and in public spaces, forcing them to accept non-native women in their midst.

Dame Jenni Murray (report, March 6) is right to draw attention to the privileged claim of “trans women”, who are socialised lifelong men, not women.

The change is not wanted by the 50 per cent of the human race called women; it is an “equalities law” too far. Una-Jane Winfield London W6 SIR – The status of transgender people needs clarifying. Some children are born with ambiguous genitalia and their sex is misdiagnosed. They deserve sympathy for a physical problem.

Those who are undoubtedly one sex but desire to be another have a psychiatric problem, which again requires sensitive treatment.

Biological science, however, denies that a genetically XY male can become XX female, despite surgical or hormonal manipulation. David Nunn FRCS West Malling, Kent SIR – Dame Jenni Murray might have a point in suggesting that men who undergo sex-change operations cannot be “real women”, but only in one sense. The word “natal” should have been used rather than “real”.

Trans women, by and large, do accept there are biological differences that will not be compensated by any amount of medical intervention. However, Dame Jenni is wrong to differentiate between natal and transgender women. Both deserve to be treated as women, full stop.

Trans women do not have the specific life experiences of natal women but that does not mean that they cannot be fully empathetic. Kirsty Stevenson Salisbury, Wiltshire SIR – Angela Epstein (Comment, March 7) recalls a woman who had formerly been a man refusing to hold a door open for her as she left. I have always understood it to be a matter of politeness for the host to open the door for a departing guest, regardless of the gender of either party. Christine Wellstead Somerton, Somerset