A quick question. What do the musical acts Alabama Shakes, will.i.am, Pixie Lott, The Human League, The Subways, Blur and Neon Trees have in common?

The answer? They all had songs with the words 'boys and girls' in the title.

(My personal favourite is Blur's Girls and Boys – bring back the mid 1990s, that's what I say.)

While we're talking about boy/girl songs, don't forget the traditional ditty 'Boys and Girls Come Out to Play'.

I mention this to try to put something in context that I shouldn't really have to. Generally speaking, boys are boys and girls are girls.

That doesn't mean by any stretch of the imagination that I believe people are absolutely defined by their gender.

But surely to try to deny there is no difference is perverse.

What, then, can you make of Natasha Devon, the government's former mental health tsar who told the Girls’ School Association’s annual conference recently that female pupils being called 'girls' or 'ladies' reminded them of their gender and may damage their mental health.

Ms Devon told the conference she would 'never walk into a room in an-all girls’ school and say ‘girls’ or ‘ladies’' because it was 'patronising'.

Apparently, she stressed the same advice applied for boys, and said: "I don’t think it is useful to be constantly reminded of your gender and all the stereotypes that go with it.”

Instead, she called on teachers at all schools to simply address youngsters as 'pupils', 'students” or even just 'people'.

The report goes on to to say she concluded her speech with: "I hope that in taking away the negative stereotypes associated with gender, we can ultimately improve their mental health."

I'm confused. How is calling a classroom full of girls 'girls' or 'ladies' reinforcing stereotypes and how, exactly, is that damaging to mental health?

I'm a male. It is a long time since I was a boy but at no time in my childhood or adult life have I been mentally scarred by being referred to as a boy, man, chap, bloke, fella, pal, mate or any other gender-specific term of reference.

Why? Because that's what I am. And no amount of gender-neutralising will ever change that.

Apparently, the Department for Education appointed Ms Devon as its first mental health champion for schools in August 2015 but her role was axed just nine months later, after she repeatedly criticised government policy.

While we're on the subject of gender, I would like to briefly return to a couple of things I may have mentioned before.

Have a look on the internet at the Early Learning Centre's cleaning trolley toy.

It has a wonderfully gender-neutral description: "Your little helper can watch the dust balls whizz around as they vacuum the carpet, they can sweep and mop the floor, as well as cleaning the worktops with the spray bottle.

"A great way to get your little one used to the idea of cleaning up after themselves, the cleaning trolley is perfect for learning about the real world through imaginative play.

"Your little one can use their imagination to make up stories, or practise tidying up just like Mum and Dad."

What a pity, then that the accompanying picture is of a little girl done up like a 1950s housewife complete with curlers in her hair. Now that really is gender stereotyping and maybe something Ms Devon could usefully tackle.

And a plea to all hipster waiters and waitresses out there. Please stop calling a table of men and women 'guys' as in "Hi guys, are you ready to order?"