Gender is a social matter, not a biological one

‘The social limits to be placed on children questioning their gender is a social and political matter.’ Photograph: Juan Moyano/Alamy

If you believe in a patriarchal society, and the entitlement to male privilege that attends it, then the biological sex of babies is highly significant (‘Gender ideology’ is all around us – but it’s not what the Tories say it is, 19 January). But if you endorse a more equal society that isn’t based on male superiority and female inferiority, then the biological sex of babies is less consequential.

One feminist response to patriarchy has been to point out that the social judgment involved in believing in a patriarchal society logically comes before believing in the significance placed on biological sex.