British prime minister says traditional understanding of gender is ‘common sense’
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asserted on Wednesday that the fact that “a man is a man and a woman is a woman” is “common sense.”
Sunak, who assumed office last October and is leader of the Conservative (Tory) Party, made the comments during a speech at his party’s annual gathering in Manchester, England, Oct. 4.
“[W]e shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They can’t. A man is a man and a woman is a woman — that’s just common sense,” Sunak said as reported by the Washington Post.
He also asserted that “it shouldn’t be controversial for parents to know what their children are being taught in school about relationships.”
The comments drew ire from supporters of transgender ideology in the U.K., who have criticized Sunak in the past for allegedly making jokes at transgender people’s expense and for denying in an interview that he believes “trans women are women.”
Sunak, a practicing Hindu, has previously signaled support for his country’s “proud record of progress on LGBT+ rights.”
“I’m proud of the fact it was the Conservative Party that led the way and delivered marriage equality for LGBT+ people … I don’t want anybody in Britain to have to hide who they are or who they love out of fear. I want this to be the safest and greatest country in the world to be LGBT+,” Sunak said in a July 2022 statement prior to his election as prime minister.
Sunak took part in King Charles III’s coronation ceremony in May, reading a passage from the Book of Colossians during the Anglican liturgical service.
