"Gender": not just a harmless term.

"Gender" has supplanted "sex" in official communiques, but few people realise what the change implies. As recently as five years ago, most people in conversation and writing used the word "sex" to refer to the sex of a person, i.e., male or female.

The word "gender" is a term only for the grammatical classification of words, and includes neuter gender or sexlessness (see an unexpurgated OED), whereas there is no neuter gender in the sexes, only male or female.

One reason why the change is happening, and with such all-conquering speed, is that universities have introduced the word at conferences and in learned publications because of its capacity for different sociological interpretations, in yet another Orwellian language makeover.

There are said to be five "genders," so every use of the word in reference to the sexes opens up the possibility of there being more than two sexes.

The basic agreement of the political and publishing classes with this view helps explain the rapidity of the change. People should be aware, therefore, that gender is not a harmless term but one weighted with ideological baggage, especially that of making homosexuality appear legitimate.