Opus team statement on the Supreme Court ruling

Last week, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act 2010 now excludes trans women on the basis of ‘biological sex’.

The ruling relies upon the harmful idea that biological sex is both binary and immutable – something which is easily disproven and for which there is no scientific basis. This interpretation of biological sex not only excludes trans women from womanhood, but also entirely denies the existence of intersex people. In this case, the court chose only to hear from transphobic organisations, not from trans people themselves, and have reached a verdict which is blatantly unscientific and which will only sow further division.

The legal repercussions of the ruling are as yet unclear, but it has the potential to do enormous harm to trans people in the UK – not just because changes in how equality law is interpreted will further exclude and marginalise people, but also because of the toxicity and dehumanisation this decision has once again unleashed in the media and in mainstream culture. This ruling has emboldened so-called ‘gender-critical feminists’ in the context of a media ecosystem which routinely dehumanises trans people, and which could result in trans people being further denied access to life-saving services.

Many of our politicians, figures in the mainstream media and media corporations themselves are responsible for normalising and legitimising the dehumanisation of trans people, which has led both to regressive policies, including reduced access to healthcare, and an enormous increase in the levels of harassment and violence trans people face on a daily basis.

We must also acknowledge that this continuing erosion of the legal protections of trans people is being funded by powerful organisations and people that seek to further a regressive agenda worldwide. The underlying purpose of these attacks is to remove trans people from public spaces entirely, due to the threat trans inclusion would pose to patriarchal systems that enforce binary gender roles and uphold the brutal capitalist system we live under.

We at Opus will always stand in solidarity with the trans community, including our trans colleagues and friends, for whom this ruling is both painful and scary, and has been followed by yet another wave of hatred and bad faith arguments. We will continue to use our platforms, such as Now Then magazine and the Festival of Debate, to amplify trans voices and fights for equal rights in Sheffield and beyond.

If you want to understand more about what this ruling might mean for trans people in the UK, we recommend this piece by Jess O’Thomson for Queer AF.