This was a question I rather naively posed to a leading consultant psychiatrist a while back when visiting my home (on a social thing in case you wonder!). I thought perhaps I should have presented it in more politically correct terms, but alas, I didn’t know how to.

The response was interesting “That is a very good question, and the simple answer is Yes’. So according to an ‘expert’, we are going madder after all!

I’ve been pondering this for a while. What prompted me to post this was learning that Facebook has approximately 50+ answers to the profile question relating to gender.

Here’s the options to date if male or female don’t suffice:

• Agender
• Androgyne
• Androgynous
• Bigender
• Cis
• Cisgender
• Cis Female
• Cis Male
• Cis Man
• Cis Woman
• Cisgender Female
• Cisgender Male
• Cisgender Man
• Cisgender Woman
• Female to Male
• FTM
• Gender Fluid
• Gender Nonconforming
• Gender Questioning
• Gender Variant
• Genderqueer
• Intersex
• Male to Female
• MTF
• Neither
• Neutrois
• Non-binary
• Other
• Pangender
• Trans
• Trans*
• Trans Female
• Trans* Female
• Trans Male
• Trans* Male
• Trans Man
• Trans* Man
• Trans Person
• Trans* Person
• Trans Woman
• Trans* Woman
• Transfeminine
• Transgender
• Transgender Female
• Transgender Male
• Transgender Man
• Transgender Person
• Transgender Woman
• Transmasculine
• Transsexual
• Transsexual Female
• Transsexual Male
• Transsexual Man
• Transsexual Person
• Transsexual Woman
• Two-Spirit

 

I am a little perplexed as to why when asked if you are male or female, there is a custom option at all and why this list is presented. 

There used to be a time when if asked if you are male or female, you also had the option to say you’d rather not say, it doesn’t matter and you’d rather keep it private. I suppose the list for sexuality or ethnic origin would present a similar sort of thing.

 I dare say I am being politically incorrect if you think that your identity comes about from defining yourself in this way? Would I find it important to stipulate I am a white British heterosexual male and those things are an important part of my identity? None of those things to me are important as I don’t attach any particular value to being British, white, male and straight. I suppose it might be an issue if I am applying for membership to an Black African Female Lesbian Dance group, beyond the fact that I can’t dance.  Would I play the discriminatory card if they refused my application? Not at all, it’s blinking obvious that this group isn’t for me any more than if I was gay and being refused entrance into a bed and breakfast run by Christians who felt uncomfortable with hosting a gay couple. I’d simply choose another bed and breakfast.

So during the discussion I asked why this psychiatrist thought we are getting madder. He answer was simple, we’ve lost the plot because we’ve thrown away any notion of objective truth that transcends are own opinions and embraced a load of false notions of who we actually are. And without any transcendent truth then pretty much anything goes. In an anything-goes secular culture that is increasing visible in the UK, then the thing that does in fact go is people’s sanity. We know mental illness is rising rapidly even amongst young children. Depression, anxiety, self harm, you name it, things which used to be fairly rare are now at epidemic proportions to the point when they are deemed ‘normal’. I was shocked to speak to some young people recently who told me self harm was pretty normal, to the point of being ‘accepted’. I am shocked, almost daily, and the levels of fear and anxiety that exists in UK culture and what this is leading to.

You may have figured from other articles on this site that I am a Christian, a father, a scientist, an electrician, a sailor, a dog trainer, a boy friend, a man and someone with an inquisitive mind and having a sense of adventure. I also know I am a bit of a mess up, struggle to keep up with the world of social media bollocks, but despite these failings I know what I am loved. And you know what? Despite me being me, knowing that I am loved not just by some people but most importantly by the creator of the universe is an amazing thing to embrace. There’s an amazing freedom in that. It doesn’t matter one jot how many friends I have on Facebook, how much money I have in my bank account, how successful I am in business and so on, because I am loved my something that transcends all those things and looks upon me as his son and says he’s well chuffed with what he sees.

So dear readers, I leave with one simple message. Throw out the concept of a loving God and anything goes. Anxiety, depression, sadness, fear, messed-upness will be the consequence.  It is what we see happening now and I don’t think believing that science is the source of ultimate truth and the answers to all these problems is going to get us far. The more people embrace what is false the more messed up things become.