Almost half of Britons believe gender is non-binary, reveals poll
Britons don’t want to be boxed in by gender stereotypes, says a leading Feminist Charity.
Almost half (44%) of the UK population now believe that gender is non-binary, but can be expressed as a range of identities.
A poll asked 8,000 people their thoughts on whether gender identity is confined to two genders – male and female (gender binary) or if gender is more fluid, encompassing a range of identities.
Women and are most likely to think that gender is fluid with almost half (48%) of women agreeing that gender is a range of identities as opposed to 40% of men.
In addition, 50% of those aged between 18-34 agreed that gender was not fixed, whilst only 39% of over 55s agreed.
Sam Smethers, Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society – who ran the poll – said the Feminist charity is committed to campaigning against “harmful gender norms and stereotypes.”
“When almost half of people think that we should not be confined to narrow categories of ‘male’ and female’ then it’s time to stop relying on outdated gender stereotypes.
“People do not want to be boxed in.”
Smethers also spoke out against Feminists such as Germaine Greer – who recently claimed trans women are not women – saying she is “denying people the right to define as a gender different from that in which they were born.”
“Significantly, our report shows that this is a minority view amongst feminists, with 68% of this group agreeing that gender can be a range of identities,” Smethers added.
“The Fawcett Society’s vision is of a society in which the choices you can make and the control you have over your life are no longer determined by your gender – a vision that is deliberately inclusive of transwomen.”
Maria Miller, the chair of Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee, today called for radical reforms as she launched a landmark report on trans issues.
The report claims the NHS is ‘breaking the law’ due to current poorly ran trans services and strongly rebukes the government for failing to make progress.
