Is gender really a choice?

THE EDITOR: "Sex is determined at birth but gender is a social construct. People choose their genders. If you don't have that understanding and respect then, certain biases can come in and interfere with how we do our work." Thus said Justice Peter Jamadar, chairman, Justice Education Institute of TT.

I had to read that about five times before it slowly began to sink in. We are being set up again.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines gender as "the socially constructed characteristics of men and women, such as norms, roles and relationships of and between groups of women and men. It varies from society to society and can be changed."

MedicalNewsToday states that gender "can refer to the role of a male or female in society, known as gender role or an individual's concept of themselves, called gender identity. Sometimes, a person's genetically assigned sex does not line up with their gender identity. These individuals might refer to themselves as transgender, non-binary of gender non-conforming."

Sex refers to the anatomical and physiological differences between men and women.

The Oxford Dictionary states that gender has been used since the 14th century to denote both biological sex and classes of nouns.

The US based Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) says that gender identity is "one's internal sense of being a man or a woman. For transgender people, their own internal identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth."

Whether we like it or not, the majority of gender issues relate to gender identity and sexual orientation and these are driven by the LGBTQ community.

A man can wake up one morning identifying as female, dress as one and enjoy all the privileges and rights of being female on that day. The next day, he can wake up identifying as male and the opposite happens. On those two days, the man chose which gender he wanted to be.

Justice Jamadar thinks that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that and to oppose it would be discrimination.

This is the rubbish that is being shoved down our throats by the USA and international bodies.

Justice Jamadar is laying the groundwork for the coming gender battle in TT. My concern is that he has made a major pronouncement on an issue, that he may well have to adjudicate in the future. If we are not careful, we could find ourselves in a situation where the Judiciary methodically dismantles our system of values.

Linus F Didier, Mt Hope