Said the letter writer, a psychologist:

"In the year 2001, this term should surely be regarded as archaic and, if used at all, enclosed in quotation marks. One would have hoped that the many liberation movements of recent decades, especially with regard to sex, gender and sexual orientation, would have led to the enlightenment of psychologists and indeed laypeople, so that it would have been obvious how unnecessary and frankly oppressive it is to label particular bits of behavior as appropriate for people identified as belonging to one gender, but not for those belonging to another.

"For psychologists, who are often regarded as experts about behavior, to continue this harmful practice is particularly troubling."

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