British Trans Women ‘Aren’t Women’

The UK Supreme Court rules that trans women are no longer legally women. Image Credits: REUTERS

Trans-women are no longer legally women, according to the UK’s Supreme Court ruling 4 days ago. Instead, the term ‘woman’ is concerned with biological sex. This means that trans women can now be banned from ‘women-only’ areas. 

This has had a huge backlash among the trans community, sparking ‘emergency’ protests in London, with thousands of trans activists taking to the streets. 

The case began in 2018, when For Women Scotland (FWS) challenged the definition of a woman in the Holyrood’s Gender Representation on Public Boards Act. The case was dismissed in both 2022 and 2023. However, in 2024, FWS was financially backed by J.K. Rowling, which resulted in the case being taken to the Scottish Court and escalating to the Supreme Court. Despite beginning in Scotland, the effects of this ruling will be felt across Britain. 

While the ruling makes no immediate change to sporting rules, we will likely see more trans women being banned from the sporting world. Currently, there is no ‘set rule’ for the treatment of transgender women in British sport. The English Football Association allows for trans women to compete in women’s football, provided their testosterone levels are low enough. In contrast, British Cycling has completely banned trans women from women’s competitions. 

Transphobia is already a huge issue in the UK. Since 2020, trans hate crimes have increased by 71%, including the murder of Brianna Ghey in 2023. We can expect to see an increase in transphobia and hate-based crimes following this act.