We Will Not Be Erased: The Supreme Court Ruling and Its Impact on Trans Rights
The UK Supreme Court vs. Common Sense.
I’m tired.
Tired of seeing my existence debated.
Tired of being reduced to a headline.
Tired of identity politics.
On April 16, 2025, the UK Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling, declared that transgender women - regardless of medical transition or possessing a Gender Recognition Certificate will not be legally recognised as women under the Equality Act 2010. And access to single-sex spaces will be based on biological sex assigned at birth, not gender identity.
This ruling carries devastating consequences for the dignity, safety, and rights of trans people in the UK. It sends a scary message from the highest court in the country that our identity can be recognised one day and then just completely dismissed the next. That our identities are conditional. Disposable.
This decision reinforces a rigid, binary definition of gender and ignores the complex lived realities of trans people. It claims to provide “clarity”, yet in practice, all it does is creates chaos and contradictions. Take my experience as a trans man, for example: I live and present as male. Don’t get me wrong - I know I am extremely privileged in that I pass meaning I can navigate through the world without being immediately identified as being trans. It offers me safety in ways many trans people, especially trans women and non-binary people don’t have. Yet under this ruling, I could be forced into female spaces simply because I was assigned female at birth. Not only is this invalidating, but it’s unsafe for me and for others. It puts us in situations that make no sense for anyone involved.
Let’s be real… if I walked into a women’s changing room, I wouldn’t be keeping anyone “safe”. I’d be causing confusion, facing harassment, and most likely be removed. This isn’t about protecting anyone — it’s about control. Control over who gets to exist in public and where we can exist.
Oh, and don’t get me started on the fearmongering around trans women in female spaces - which is based on nothing but unfounded prejudice. There’s no credible evidence that suggests trans women pose a threat to cisgender women. In fact, trans people (especially trans women) are far more likely to be victims of violence than to be perpetrators of it. All this ruling is doing is mirroring the patriarchal systems that have always policed women’s bodies and now, that control is extending to trans women.
It’s a cruel irony - one that exposes just how deeply rooted transmisogyny is not only institutionally, but culturally too. The online response we have seen has made this painfully clear. Way too many people are reacting without fully understanding the nuances of trans identities, particularly the distinctions between trans men and trans women. This lack of awareness encourages misinformation, harmful rhetoric, and policies that fail to reflect our lived realities. People are debating our existence without even grasping the basics of what it even means to be trans. This is the ignorance that has led to dangerous laws and harmful rhetoric. It is what has allowed transmisogyny to thrive.
Honestly, I can’t say I am surprised this has happened. We are living in a political climate where trans people have been relentlessly targeted and scapegoated in the press, politics and just general everyday life. It is ultimately a result of years of rising anti-trans sentiment, legal ambiguity, repeated institutional failures and the media fuelling fear and disinformation that has portrayed trans lives as dangerous and fraudulent and now this disinformation is shaping policy.
What’s even worse is that this decision was made without consulting a single trans person. Our lives are actually being debated by lawmakers who have not even bothered to ask us how we feel, what we need, or how this will affect us! For me, this just highlights the urgent need for education and advocacy. The ruling has created more questions than answers. Moving forward, we need to ensure that policies are based on actual reality rather than fear.
It is honestly ridiculous how fixated society has become on us. We make up 0.1% of the population for god sake! We just want to live our lives and do normal boring shit like go to work, see our mates, sit in a beer garden, and just enjoy the simple pleasures in life and exist without fear or humiliation. Soooo radical, right? I know.
Trans women have always been at the forefront of LGBTQ+ liberation - paving the way for the rights we have today. Now it is time for the rest of us to show up for them, the way they have always shown up for us. Together, we will push back against systems that seek to control and erase us. We must amplify our voices, educate others, and advocate for a future where all people are treated with dignity and respect.
This ruling is a setback, but it will not define us. We are stronger than the forces that seek to silence us. And we will continue to fight for ourselves, for each other, and for the generations to come.
But lets be real, posting a pretty Instagram story with a “trans lives matter” caption wont do shit. Empty gestures don’t make a difference. We need real actions… Donate to transition fundraisers, look out for your trans mates, be a support system and ally in public, and call out transphobic bullshit when you hear it.
hopefully next time I write about the trans community it will be something positive.
yours sincerely,
a trans man who just wants to live his life in peace x
Lars Jaden Fellows
You’re not allowed in women’s spaces. If you took the time to pay attention to what the ruling means, you can no longer infringe on men’s rights by entering their spaces, but you also can’t come into women’s because of your decision to pretend to be a man. You have to use third unisex spaces.
I feel sorry for any other person who is so unhappy they put themselves through this process. That said, there are only two sexes and a performance of the opposite one in the binary, doesn't magically endow those specific sex-based rights.