As a feminist I am horrified by the Supreme Court’s decision for trans women - this is why you should be too

As a feminist and a cis* woman I am horrified at the Supreme Court’s decision as to what identifies as a woman - and this is why you should be too. 

*A cis, or cisgender woman, is someone who identifies as a woman and whose assigned sex at birth was female. The term ‘cisgender’ describes a person whose gender identity corresponds to the sex they were assigned at birth. 
I am describing myself in this way for the context of this article, which is discussing how the ruling has affected trans women. I believe that both trans women and cis women are real women, and do not mean to cause offence with this term.

On Wednesday, five judges at the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a woman is defined by biological sex under the Equality Act 2010.

Therefore, this ruling is basically stating that trans women are not ‘real’ women.

This is absolutely horrifying and upsetting, and will affect how trans women are treated in all areas of society, specifically being excluded from female-only spaces.

We are yet to see how the ruling will change the accessibility of female-only spaces for trans women, but this could include prisons, in custody while being arrested, in all facets of the NHS, sports teams, changing rooms, and domestic refuges - this means that trans women escaping domestic violence from men may not be allowed into women’s refuges or granted a safe space.

We have already seen the impact of the ruling come into play as the British Transport Police (BTP) have released a statement saying that trans women in custody will now be strip searched by male officers, in line with their biological sex.

For those women’s groups celebrating this as a win for women and a win for feminism, I hate to break it to you, but you are not a feminist - because trans women are women, and you are only a feminist if you believe in equality for all women.

This is a perfect example of why we need intersectional feminism, which is not feminism that only benefits you and your ‘group’ of women, for example women like me, straight, cis, white women, but all women. Feminism is equality and equity for all women regardless of their background, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, class, where they live, their sexuality, whether they are trans, if they are disabled, etc.

So to say this is a win for feminism is a lie, because trans women are women and this is directly putting them in harm’s way.

Another way for women to think about this is - once the government and lawmakers start to take away the rights of trans people, where do you think that is going to go next?

We have already seen the rights of women being taken away - reproductive rights taken away, rights to abortion taken away - if they take away trans rights, then the rights of LGBTQ people, followed by other marginalized groups, who do you think will be next? Because I’m pretty sure it will be women, rather than men.

This ruling is a backward step for literally all of us, as once you start with something like this it is such a slippery slope, and where does it end? Is a biological woman going to be defined as someone who can carry children, or have periods? As many biological women can’t do that, so what is going to constitute as a woman then? It’s so incredibly harmful to all women to reduce womanhood down to just chromosomes and biological factors, when so many other things make up what women are.

There is so much transphobia and hate crime already, with figures continuing to rise, and the significant fear is that this ruling is going to make that even worse by making hateful individuals feel entitled to their opinions as it is ‘the law’, while reducing the safe spaces that trans women are entitled to access for protection.

I completely stand with trans women and support their rights as women. As a feminist, I advocate for all women, and for all human rights. Trans women are women. Trans rights are human rights. End of.

Written by Ally McLaren
Editor

Hi, I’m Ally, Editor of This Modern Struggle Magazine.

You may have seen my writing in Mouthy Magazine or Darling Magazine. I currently work in Marketing and PR and do freelance copywriting on the side. I also have experience in journalism and feature writing for women’s magazines and national press.

When I’m not writing you can find me eating pizza, stroking my cat and watching true crime documentaries.

I started this magazine for all the fellow strugglers who feel the same way that I do; like everyone else has it all figured out and you just don’t know what you’re doing in life.