Guidelines, which go against First Minister’s belief that there are only two genders, labelled ‘nuts’

SNP ministers have been mocked by JK Rowling and Elon Musk after the Scottish Government issued an official list of 24 different genders.

The Harry Potter author claimed that the “Scottish endarkenment gathers pace” after The Telegraph revealed the two dozen terms that Scots could be categorised as in official statistics.

Mr Musk, the Tesla founder, responded to the criticism by posting a “nuts” emoji on his social media platform X.

Official guidelines issued last week by the Scottish Government’s chief statistician endorses identities such as “pangender”, meaning a person identifies as having “all possible genders at once”, and agender, meaning a person who “does not identify as having a gender”.

The guidelines were issued despite John Swinney, the First Minister, saying that he believed that male and female were the only two genders.

Asked on Monday about the list produced by his own administration, he said he still believed there were only two genders but that it would be “wrong” for him to interfere with decisions made by the chief statistician.

Rowling ridiculed the list, questioning whether the “astro identities” of those whose star sign “doesn’t match the sign they were assigned at birth” would be next to gain formal recognition.

John Swinney, seen with his deputy Kate Forbes, still believes there are only two genders Credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Some LGBT activists claim there is a “spectrum” of valid gender identities that can differ from a person’s biological sex.

Gender-critical activists such as Rowling believe the claims are nonsense and that humans can only be male or female.

Murdo Fraser, the senior Scottish Tory MSP, questioned whether Mr Swinney was in charge of the government after it contradicted his own views on the issue.

“John Swinney states there are only two genders, but his government claims 24,” Mr Fraser said. “What a complete shambles, but exactly what we have come to expect from this failing SNP administration.”

On a BBC pre-election radio phone in July, Mr Swinney initially tried to avoid saying how many genders he thought there were, claiming it was a matter for “debate”.

Pushed for a response, he eventually admitted that he believed there were only two genders – male and female – though he admitted that others may take a different view.

Since taking office, Mr Swinney has tried to avoid new controversies over transgender rights following concerns within the SNP that its stance has turned off voters.

Gender self-ID law

Nicola Sturgeon’s final weeks in office were overshadowed by the UK Government blocking her unpopular gender self-ID law and Isla Bryson, previously Adam Graham, a transgender double rapist, being initially sent to a female prison.

Under Humza Yousaf’s leadership, the Scottish Government then spent at least £227,000 in taxpayers’ money on a failed court bid to have the UK government’s veto on Ms Sturgeon’s self-ID law overturned.

Mr Swinney has shelved plans to legislate for a Scottish conversion therapy ban, which could have seen parents jailed if they refused to allow their children to transition, and appointed Kate Forbes, who has said she agrees with Rowling on gender issues, as his deputy.

However, his administration is continuing to fund activist groups which promote controversial theories around sex and gender, including in classrooms.

The new guidance issued by the Scottish Government also endorsed identities such as “bigender”, meaning a person can have two genders at once, and “autigender”, for those who see their gender “in the context of autism”.

Asked how many genders there were on Monday, Mr Swinney said he had “not changed my view from what I said earlier on”.

He added: “The chief statistician’s point, I think, is quite simply about the handling of statistical data.

“These are judgments made by the chief statistician based on their statutory role so it’s not for me to question the statutory decisions of the chief statistician. It would be wrong for me to do so.”