Boys and girls do exist

SIR – We seem to have reached a point where parents interpret a little boy taking a liking to the colour pink, or a girl shunning dolls, as an indicator of a problem with gender.

Being a male or a female is not culturally determined, neither is it naturally ambiguous: it is a biological role. If a child cannot learn to identify their own sexual role (determined by the simple fact that they are either male or female), their ability to function as an adult will be crippled.

We should allow children to explore their interests, but it would only be fair to explain to a son in a dress that it is not something for boys. Part of a parent’s role is to help children understand the need for them to identify with their peers, make friends and function socially. Emilie Lamplough

Trowbridge, Wiltshire