forbidden words: gender ideology

gender noun

1. either the male or female division of a species, especially as differentiated by social and cultural roles and behavior.

   the feminine gender.

2. a similar category of human beings that is outside the male/female binary classification.

3. the concept or system of categories such as male and female: 
   More and more people have a nonbinary understanding of gender.
   Gender is a factor in pay rates across industries.

4. Grammar. 

   1. (in many languages) a set of classes that together include all nouns, membership in a particular class being shown by the form of the noun itself or by the form or choice of words that modify, replace, or otherwise refer to the noun, as, in English, the choice of he to replace the man, of she to replace the woman, of it to replace the table, of it or she to replace the ship. The number of genders in different languages varies from 2 to more than 20; often the classification correlates in part with sex or animateness. The most familiar sets of genders are of three classes (as masculine, feminine, and neuter in Latin and German) or of two (as common and neuter in Dutch, or masculine and feminine in French and Spanish).

   2. one class of such a set.

   3. such classes or sets collectively or in general.

   4. membership of a word or grammatical form, or an inflectional form showing membership, in such a class.

5. Archaic. kind, sort, or class.

gender verb used with object

1. to attribute gender to, or to classify by gender: 
   Usually when I wear my hair down people gender me as female.
   Gendering soaps seems a bit much—can’t men and women use the same products?

gender verb used with or without object

1. Archaic. to engender.

2. Obsolete. to breed.

Sensitive Note

It is possible to define gender as interchangeable with “sex,” indicating that the term can be used when differentiating male creatures from female ones biologically. However, the concept of gender, a word primarily applied to human beings, has additional connotations having to do with general behavior, social interactions, and most importantly, one’s fundamental sense of self. People increasingly recognize that a complex spectrum between male and female exists not only mentally, psychologically, and behaviorally, but also anatomically—there have always been intersex people. The conflation of gender with sex, though historically common, is now often criticized because it is seen by some to be insensitive or dehumanizing. People who do not question their assigned gender are usually referred to as cisgender, or just cis— as in a cis male or a cis female. Using cis is a way to refer to these individuals without implying that cisgender people are the only norm. Those who don’t identify with the gender assigned to them at birth are often referred to using the umbrella term transgender, though not everyone labeled in this way accepts the designation. The term transgender includes both binary trans people and those who are outside of the male–female binary in some way, including nonbinary and genderqueer people. After realizing their gender, many transgender people may change the way they dress, speak, or otherwise present themselves. Some may transition medically through surgery, hormone replacement therapy, and other procedures. Some may want to change the language people use to refer to them, including things like given name and pronouns as well as gender labels. This array of life experiences has resulted in a veritable explosion of new, or newly adapted, vocabulary.

from — Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words. (2025k). In Dictionary.com. 

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ideology n 

1. 1. the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group.

   2. such a body of doctrine, myth, etc., with reference to some political and social plan, as that of fascism, along with the devices for putting it into operation.

   3. Philosophy. 

      a.the study of the nature and origin of ideas.
      b. a system that derives ideas exclusively from sensation.

   4. theorizing of a visionary or impractical nature.

from — Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words. (2025i). In Dictionary.com.

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gender ideology

Employed by prominent anti-LGBTQ accounts and similar to the trope “transgenderism,” “gender ideology” is a malicious rhetorical construct that falsely asserts that LGBTQ — notably trans — people are an ideological movement rather than an intrinsic identity.

As the ADL notes, “proponents of the phrase often use it to oppose school curricula that feature and/or celebrate LGBTQ+ history or experiences, falsely claiming that such materials promote the sexualization of minors and/or coerce children into identifying as members of the LGBTQ+ community.” The Southern Poverty Law Center adds: “Anti-LGBTQ+ groups often employ the term to claim any kind of positive affirmation of trans young people is a nefarious method of creating or recruiting new trans kids.” On Twitter/X, for example, far-right outlet The Daily Wire widely promoted a speech by anti-trans commentator Matt Walsh, who said in April 2023, “I truly see the fight against gender ideology as the last stand for Western civilization.” Other extremist accounts have used the phrase as a dog whistle to spread animus against trans people. That same month, Gays Against Groomers posted across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X: “Gender ideology must be completely abolished and destroyed.”

from — GLAAD. (2025, May 13). Gender Ideology: Definition, meaning, and origin in Anti-LGBTQ hate | GLAAD. GLAAD | GLAAD Rewrites the Script for LGBTQ Acceptance.~ ~ ~

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example sentences: gender ideology

If the false narrative of gender ideology continues to gain momentum, the hard-won rights of LGBTI people and women could be endangered.
from The fake ideology that could do real harm. (n.d.). 

A dangerous concept has emerged in Latin America, one with the power to rapidly mobilize voters and give new energy to the socially conservative agenda. It’s called “gender ideology,” and according to the conservative politicians and activists who coined the phrase, it redefines reforms that benefit women and LGBTI people—such as the right to same-sex marriage—as the “imposition” of a system of beliefs [link in Spanish] that threatens “Christian values” and corrupts society.
from The fake ideology that could do real harm. (n.d.). 

“Gender ideology” replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity, permitting the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa, and requiring all institutions of society to regard this false claim as true.  Gender ideology includes the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one’s sex.  Gender ideology is internally inconsistent, in that it diminishes sex as an identifiable or useful category but nevertheless maintains that it is possible for a person to be born in the wrong sexed body.
from The White House. (2025, January 21). Defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government.

(e)  Agencies shall remove all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology, and shall cease issuing such statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications or other messages.  Agency forms that require an individual’s sex shall list male or female, and shall not request gender identity.  Agencies shall take all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to end the Federal funding of gender ideology.
from The White House. (2025, January 21). Defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government.

Framed as a move to protect women from “gender ideology extremism,” the order states that “‘Female’ means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell,” and “‘Male’ means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell.”
from Three takeaways from new executive order on ‘gender ideology.’ (n.d.). Northwestern Now. 

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June 28th 2025
Hudson Valley, NY

This is one of the words/ phrases you can’t say in the new Trump Regime. See a comprehensive list at the Forbidden Words Project.

image: american swastika © Holly Troy 6.2025