BBC education film that claims there are 'more than 100 gender identities' is blasted as 'nonsense' and accused of 'confusing' primary school children

A BBC education film that claimed there were 'more than 100 gender identities' has been blasted as 'nonsense' and accused of 'confusing' primary school children. 

BBC Teach released a series of nine films that support the physical, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum in schools.

The short clips are shown in classrooms to pupils aged between nine and 12 are used to explore controversial topics such as sex and body image.

In one video, titled Identity - Understanding Sexual and Gender Identities, a young boy asks: 'What are the different gender identities?'

The teacher on screen, Kate Daniels, then says: 'We know that we have got male and female but there are over 100, if not more, gender identities now.' 

Ms Daniels then goes on to explain that some people are 'bi-gender' and so feel as though they are two genders at once, as well as that some people are 'gender-queer' and 'don't want to be anything in particular'.  

It is feared that the advice that there are more than '100 genders' will cause confusion as increasingly more children are seeking to change their gender identity. 

Between 2017 and 2018, 2,519 young people were referred to the gender development service at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London.

Currently, six genders are officially recognised by the Royal College of General Practitioners, which represents those who are often the first point of contact to people questioning their identity.

These six are male, female, gender-neutral, non-binary, gender-fluid and gender-queer.

A foundation called Transgender Trend represents families that are concerned about the surge in diagnosing young children as transgender.

Founder Stephanie Davies-Arai said: 'This is made-up nonsense.  

'People are free to identify as anything they like but this does not change the reality that there are only two sexes.'

She went on to say that this new advice will inevitably 'confuse' children into believing that they can choose their biological sex.

But the BBC is not alone in listing a range of gender identities.

Up until 2015 Facebook offered 71 gender options for those signing up to the social media platform.

The online platform has now decided to scale down the choice to male, female or write your own description.

The teacher presenting the films, Kate Daniels, was herself a primary school teacher for ten years.

In the introduction to the series she explains that the topics are vital to tackle head on otherwise there is a risk that children will go online and could come across 'nasty and inappropriate' material.  

A spokeswoman for the BBC said: 'The Big Talk series was contributed to by more than 50 independent experts and professionals and is intended to be used by teachers, within the safe space of the classroom, to prompt further conversation with their pupils on the topics raised.'