please empty your brain below
Internal or external identity?, and it depends where you live, so a white gay person in Runcorn can probably live a life free of peoples prejudices, but could a black heterosexual, and we still see so called 'honour' crimes, forced marriages and FGM within communities, technology means 'home' is just a text message/Skype call away instead of an expensive phone call or a letter, the same technology means that I can stream programmes and music from my home country too.

Still Anon | 11.01.20 - 8:29 a.m. | #

"Young people in particular are very relaxed about who they are, or might be"

Not in secondary schools it isn't. Well, at least those that I know 40+ miles from the centre of London. Bullying based on non-gender-appropriate behaviour is still utterly rife, and worse than I've ever known it (messaging and group chat).

But, I would say that this assertion is increasingly true of people now in their 20s and 30s, but, beyond that, I'm not so sure.

dg writes: I've now ramped my certainty down a notch, thanks.

Blue Witch | Homepage | 11.01.20 - 9:35 a.m. | #

This a good thing, regardless of ones particular views.
It may be that the boundaries are being pushed to the very extremes at the moment, but I think by 2030 the level of general acceptance (outwardly at least) will be that it really becomes a non-issue for most people and the young will find something else to explore, as they always do.

Cornish Cockney | 11.01.20 - 10:43 a.m. | #

I also tend to question the assertion that 'young people in particular are very relaxed about who they are, or might be', albeit possibly from a different perspective than Blue Witch. It seems to me that as more different identies become available - articulated and accepted - the pressure to adopt one and conform to it is actually growing.

Sarah | Homepage | 11.01.20 - 11:13 a.m. | #

I'm not sure things will be as smooth as DG suggests, when the interests of one group clashes with the interests of another (e.g. the arguments between feminists and trans rights campaigners over safe spaces, changing rooms, female prisons etc)

Mikey C | 11.01.20 - 1:17 p.m. | #

I predict, after a good old shake up, people will decide they liked the certainty of a small and very discrete set of identity identifiers and those few will become the new norm.

B | 11.01.20 - 2:17 p.m. | #

There seems to be an assumption that the liberal, outward looking values prevalent in London and perhaps other large urban areas are reflected elsewhere in the country which I suspect is not the case as Brexit has shown.

JohnC | 11.01.20 - 6:04 p.m. | #











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