Gender Ideology the definition Briefing Notes

Summary

Gender Ideology - Definition provides a definition for the term “gender ideology” and how it is used by groups and individuals to promote transphobic ideas.

Gender Ideology – Definition for Briefing Notes – Overview:

Over recent years, trans-hostile actors and right-wing members of the Conservative Party have introduced into discourse the phrase “Gender Ideology” or occasionally “Trans Ideology”, a variation aimed explicitly at the trans community.

Whilst the phrase “gender ideology” (G I) is not new within trans-hostile posts on social media, from extremist far-right evangelical organisations or in the right-wing press, it is now being used in informer government literature and promoted by some trans-hostile politicians.

It should be noted that an ideology is a “system of ideas and ideals” that often form the basis of economic or political theory and policy. Trans people exist – we are not an ideology; we are human beings.

Key Points:

Ask the trans community what gender ideology means, and you are likely to get an angry reaction, with most defining the phrase to mean that trans people don’t exist. That they are “an ideology”. At the 2023 Conservative conference, Suella Braverman used the phrase G I, which resulted in Conservative Assembly Chair Andrew Boff being ejected from the conference after loudly replying, “There’s no such thing as gender ideology“⁽¹⁾.

Gender Ideology is being portrayed in the U.K. by those hostile to the trans community, the right wing and evangelicals alike, as a sinister social contagion, one that is poisoning society, particularly in schools⁽²⁾ and universities.

Trans-hostile actors generally view the concept of ‘gender’ as dangerous because it challenges traditional social structures, consequently promoting the binary, male-headed nuclear family (consisting of a husband, wife, and children) as the only valid or moral way to live. They argue that reforms benefiting LGBTQLGBTQ LGBTQIA+ is an inclusive term that includes people of all genders and sexualities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex, asexual, pansexual, and allies. While each letter in LGBTQIA+ stands for a specific group of people, the term encompasses the entire spectrum of gender fluidity and sexual identities. https://abbreviations.yourdictionary.com/what-does-lgbtqia-stand-for-full-acronym-explained.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT+ people encourage homosexuality and transgenderism and threaten the traditional family concept, posing a threat to Christian values.

Anti-gender organisations (including those few on the left) believe that recognising diverse gender identities is altering the fabric of society. They resist shifts away from binary gender norms and roles. Gender-critical feminists believe that biological sex is more important than gender and often use G I in their advocacy.

Many trans-hostile movements are connected to global organisations, moving away from liberal democracy and toward right-wing populism, often aligning with nationalist conservativism and neo-fascism. There are also a few trans-hostile LGB organisations that promote gender ideology, much to the dislike of mainstream LGBT organisations.

Sadly, using the phrase “gender ideology”, they have found a powerful weapon mainly when used in the so-called “trans debate”.

Recommendation:

Trans-hostile actors introduce the notion of ‘gender ideology’, to depersonalise debates that are relevant to the lives of trans people – issues, like safety and healthcare. They do this to make more palatable their desire to deny trans people the rights and opportunities that are afforded to others. This rhetorical phrase should be actively resisted when it is encountered.

A more recent phenomenon, however, is the direct confrontation by some of these politicians of gender-based laws and public policies. There is a shift from a defensive position to an offensive one: these politicians are not only protecting family and life values but also aiming to illegalise any gender reference. Either for religious convictions or for electoral opportunities (or both), this type of politician has included the fight against gender ideology as part of their public agenda. The most visible and extreme example in the region is the current president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who has held the fight against gender ideology as one of the main axes of his electoral campaign and governmental decisions.

Pope Francis is reported saying in March 2024⁽⁹⁾:

“The gifts of men and women are fruitful together, and to erase the difference between men and women is to erase humanity. Today, the worst danger is gender ideology”.

ENDS