The word sex has a scientific meaning and has been used for millennia to indicate that an individual is a male or a female. It is based on his/her external characteristics, including reproductive external organs. Sex is assigned at birth and is in some extremely rare cases undefined. It is also a scientific fact that male and female individuals are not only physically but also physiologically different.
Gender is a social construct that indicates the sexual orientation of an individual. It may change overtime and may or may not match the biological sex of a person. In other words, it is not possible to measure gender objectively. The use of gender has become popular in the common language recently because apparently, it is less “shocking” than the word sex. The word sex itself has been coopted at the end of the last century to mean sexual intercourse. That may be why people are reluctant to use it in day-to-day conversations.
When federal agencies in their official documents use gender to mean sex, it confuses the reader and indicates their willingness to bend their knees to the current prevalent culture instead of promoting the truth or the science. This practice has extensive consequences since it vitiates science.
In conclusion, sex and gender have different meanings. They should not be used interchangeably by federal agencies. The recent practice of federal agencies, specifically health agencies, of using gender to mean sex is abhorrent, unscientific, and reinforces the notion that human beings can be born in the wrong body. It must be stopped.