Colombia debates gender identity and sexual education policy

Debates regarding gender identity and sexual education have resurfaced in Colombia, centered on the influence of theories such as those proposed by Judith Butler. Discussions involve the tension between cultural impositions of gender identity and biological realities, often framed through psychoanalytic concepts like the symbolic and the real.

Minister Viviane Morales has sparked renewed controversy regarding the potential “ideologization” of classrooms. Critics and academic analysts argue that the concept of “gender ideology” is a political and cultural label used by religious and conservative sectors to mobilize opposition against sexual education, reproductive rights, and LGBTIQ+ equality, rather than a recognized scientific theory.