Having been vociferously challenged by feminists over the last few decades, the idea of an innate gender identity is gaining popularity in progressive circles and culture at large, along with the newer idea that biological sex is a construct. To effectively fight the oppression of women, we must resist these moves and reclaim the language of feminism argues Julie Bindel. 

There is no such thing as a ‘real woman’ or ‘real man’.

That might sound odd to readers who are familiar with my work and feminist campaigning. Why fight for women only spaces and to uphold sex-based rights if you don't even believe that there is such a thing as a 'woman'?

Whilst I have no idea what it feels like to be a woman, only that my status as a female is defined in relation to men, I am reminded of it every time I hear of yet another rape, murder or case of FGM. Each time I am alone in a deserted outdoor area at night, and I have to look out for some opportunist predator.

The project of feminism is to dismiss the validity of sex stereotypes that underpin male entitlement and keep women subservient, such as that women enjoy being feminine, and seek out strong, masculine men.

We are now supposed to accept that gender is innate and biological sex is a social construct, in a complete reversal of the actual definition of these terms.

But today, such stereotypes are enjoying a revival. We are now supposed to accept that gender is innate and biological sex is a social construct, in a complete reversal of the actual definition of these terms. If there is no such thing as 'sex' why would scientists study sex differences in Covid 19 deaths?

Feminists adopted the term gender to describe a material reality – the systematic enforcement of male power - and as a tool for political change. It is no wonder that those hostile to feminism would want to sabotage the term. That is also why it is so important for us to reclaim the term gender from the confusion now surrounding it.

Feminism made a clear distinction between sex and gender. Indeed, this distinction was the foundation of second wave feminism because it helped us understand that there was nothing ‘natural’ about femininity for girls or masculinity for boys but that these concepts were merely rules of behaviour. Sex stereotypes, often referred to as ‘gender roles’ are what keep women in subservient positions in relation to men.

There has always been some confusion about the term ‘gender’, often used as a polite substitute for the term ‘sex’ in common parlance, but since the 1990s, (thanks to the likes of Judith Butler and other queer theorists) the term ‘gender’ has been completely misappropriated and used to mean something you can choose to perform, rather than something society imposes on you. More recently, gender has come to mean quite simply transgender, and is often used interchangeably with, or substituted for, biological sex.

Sex stereotypes, often referred to as ‘gender roles’ are what keep women in subservient positions in relation to men.