The Supreme Court has announced that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex in a landmark judgement.
Lord Hodge said that five Supreme Court justices had unanimously decided that ‘the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act refer to a 'biological woman and biological sex’.
He recognised ‘the strength of feeling on both sides’ and cautioned against seeing the judgement as a triumph for one side over another, stressing that the law still gives trans people protection against discrimination.
But the decision could have far-reaching implications on how sex-based rights apply, including how women-only spaces are allowed to operate.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch praised the ruling as a 'victory' for women and said it meant the ‘era of Keir Starmer telling us women can have penises has come to an end’.
The judgement marks the culmination of a long-running legal battle between the Scottish government and a women's group over the definition of a 'woman' in Scottish legislation mandating 50 per cent female representation on public boards.
The case centred on whether somebody with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman under the 2010 Equality Act.
The Scottish government argued that such people are entitled to sex-based protections, while campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS) claimed they only apply to people that are born female.
The action sought to overturn a decision by the Scottish courts in 2023 which found that treating someone with a GRC as a woman under the Equality Act was lawful. The outcome will have implications in England, Scotland and Wales.
-- Edited by Digger on Wednesday 16th of April 2025 11:33:31 AM
Digger said
Apr 16 11:37 AM, 2025
Kate Barker, chief executive of LGB Alliance which intervened in the case, described the judgment as a ‘profound relief’.
She said it marks a watershed moment in the fight for lesbian rights following years of mounting attacks, in particular from proponents of gender identity ideology.
‘The ruling confirms that the words ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’ refer to same-sex sexual orientation and makes it absolutely clear that lesbians wishing to form associations of any size are lawfully entitled to exclude men – whether or not they possess a GRC,’ she said.
‘It is difficult to express the significance of this ruling: it marks a watershed for women and, in particular, lesbians who have seen their rights and identities steadily stolen from them over the last decade.’
Digger said
Apr 16 11:41 AM, 2025
The real madness is that....it shouldn't really have come to this.
Syl said
Apr 16 11:43 AM, 2025
Hopefully now we won't see any more men masquerading as women competing against biological women in sports events.
I have never understood Trans hatred against lesbians...lesbians are biological women who are attracted to other biological women...there should never have been an issue with that.
Anonymous said
Apr 16 11:53 AM, 2025
I'm really pleased about the ruling. It's about time common sense reared it's head. Trans women still have protection against prejudice and it's not a ruling against them. But I fear they won't see it that way.
Anonymous said
Apr 16 11:59 AM, 2025
Have to admit I'm not totally up to speed with this, so it leaves me with some questions
If I have it right the ruling says that sex is binary and based on your gender at birth.
So you're either male or female.
But how about someone born male but who has had reassignment surgery and now has physical female parts.
Would that person now be defined as a woman, if not, what would they be in law?
Hoping someone more au fait with this stuff can help clarify
Syl said
Apr 16 12:03 PM, 2025
I feel for the trans women who have spent many years, usually since their childhood, feeling they were in the wrong body.
They have spent their adult lives, being mentally assessed, having gender reassignment surgeries and mostly just want to live and let live.
Anonymous said
Apr 16 12:19 PM, 2025
My heartfelt thanks goes to every person out there who has fought so hard for this to be put this, legally, out there, particularly those that have been threatened, ridiculed, bullied, assaulted and lost employment throughout this lunacy.
It goes without saying that it should never have come to this.
Let the squealing, protests and boycott threats begin.
Anonymous said
Apr 16 12:52 PM, 2025
Syl wrote:
Hopefully now we won't see any more men masquerading as women competing against biological women in sports events.
I have never understood Trans hatred against lesbians...lesbians are biological women who are attracted to other biological women...there should never have been an issue with that.
Yeah, considering these blokes, pretending to be women, class themselves as lesbians how can they hate the very thing they claim to be and what the hell is a male gay lesbian?
I have never been able to get my head around trans “logic”.
Anonymous said
Apr 16 1:00 PM, 2025
Anonymous wrote:
I'm really pleased about the ruling. It's about time common sense reared it's head. Trans women still have protection against prejudice and it's not a ruling against them. But I fear they won't see it that way.
Of course they won’t. This will add to their ongoing “genocide” claims, they’ve already disgustingly compared their “persecution” to the Holocaust.
Anonymous said
Apr 16 1:13 PM, 2025
Nicola Sturgeon, on hearing the Supreme Court decision:
Anonymous said
Apr 16 2:21 PM, 2025
To the Anon wondering about males who look female and have had 'the op' so to speak I too am confused about their status. What prison would they go to? It would have to be a women's as they have female genitalia and sending them to a male prison would cause chaos. From what I can ascertain trans women who have had the necessary operations and look like women are going to be recognised as trans women in law but NOT women. I think the previous ruling removed that distinction. I feel for genuine trans women as they really feel trapped in the wrong body and struggle so much just to feel normal. But they were born as men and do not have the inner organs of women therefore they cannot be recognised as biological women, as they are not. It will have implications for trans ladies in sports but I think that is a necessary change tbh as trans women were beating all of the biological women by quite some margin! There has been backlash from the Trans community which is inevitable but unfair imo and lacks insight.
Vita said
Apr 16 3:25 PM, 2025
Anonymous wrote:
Have to admit I'm not totally up to speed with this, so it leaves me with some questions
If I have it right the ruling says that sex is binary and based on your gender at birth.
So you're either male or female.
But how about someone born male but who has had reassignment surgery and now has physical female parts.
Would that person now be defined as a woman, if not, what would they be in law?
Hoping someone more au fait with this stuff can help clarify
It doesn't matter if a man has had his bits cut off or not, legally he is still male.
Two sexes, male and female.
Vita said
Apr 16 3:31 PM, 2025
I was so pleased to hear the ruling this morning and it's a bloody disgrace it got as far as the Supreme court to say what a woman is.
Hopefully this will end the insanity of 6ft 5ins build like a brick shithoose competing against women in sport, plus the indignity of a man in women's hospital wards.
How many of these pretend “women” are now going to drop their act?…no legal standing in demanding access to female changing rooms, toilets, sports and the likes.
The case against Sandie Peggie... Upton must be piddling his Y-fronts at the thought of undressing with his fellow male colleagues.
Syl said
Apr 16 4:22 PM, 2025
Anonymous wrote:
To the Anon wondering about males who look female and have had 'the op' so to speak I too am confused about their status. What prison would they go to? It would have to be a women's as they have female genitalia and sending them to a male prison would cause chaos. From what I can ascertain trans women who have had the necessary operations and look like women are going to be recognised as trans women in law but NOT women. I think the previous ruling removed that distinction. I feel for genuine trans women as they really feel trapped in the wrong body and struggle so much just to feel normal. But they were born as men and do not have the inner organs of women therefore they cannot be recognised as biological women, as they are not. It will have implications for trans ladies in sports but I think that is a necessary change tbh as trans women were beating all of the biological women by quite some margin! There has been backlash from the Trans community which is inevitable but unfair imo and lacks insight.
Unfortunately, in life, you can't have it all.
Trans sportswomen will just have to accept that even if they have had gender realignment, they can't and should have never been allowed to compete against biological women.
Why would a genuine trans want the advantage anyway? I expect in the sports world, there will be fewer men now deciding they are in fact...women.
Anonymous said
Apr 16 4:31 PM, 2025
I'm not sure the majority of trans women are doing it just to intrude on the privacy of biological women. Obviously men in floral skirts with beards and a smirk are up to no good and are not genuine trans women. But I agree with a post syl made earlier. The ppl of both sexes who have struggled all their lives Feeling they are in the wrong body are genuine and go through much distress. They deserve some sympathy imo. They go through terribly painful operations and live in desperate isolation just to feel relatively normal. They are not biological women and should not be referred to as such, but nor do they deserve to be tarnished with the same brush as the men with a twisted mindset.
Thank fuck for that!
The Supreme Court has announced that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex in a landmark judgement.
Lord Hodge said that five Supreme Court justices had unanimously decided that ‘the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act refer to a 'biological woman and biological sex’.
He recognised ‘the strength of feeling on both sides’ and cautioned against seeing the judgement as a triumph for one side over another, stressing that the law still gives trans people protection against discrimination.
But the decision could have far-reaching implications on how sex-based rights apply, including how women-only spaces are allowed to operate.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch praised the ruling as a 'victory' for women and said it meant the ‘era of Keir Starmer telling us women can have penises has come to an end’.
The judgement marks the culmination of a long-running legal battle between the Scottish government and a women's group over the definition of a 'woman' in Scottish legislation mandating 50 per cent female representation on public boards.
The case centred on whether somebody with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman under the 2010 Equality Act.
The Scottish government argued that such people are entitled to sex-based protections, while campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS) claimed they only apply to people that are born female.
The action sought to overturn a decision by the Scottish courts in 2023 which found that treating someone with a GRC as a woman under the Equality Act was lawful. The outcome will have implications in England, Scotland and Wales.
-- Edited by Digger on Wednesday 16th of April 2025 11:33:31 AM
She said it marks a watershed moment in the fight for lesbian rights following years of mounting attacks, in particular from proponents of gender identity ideology.
‘The ruling confirms that the words ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’ refer to same-sex sexual orientation and makes it absolutely clear that lesbians wishing to form associations of any size are lawfully entitled to exclude men – whether or not they possess a GRC,’ she said.
‘It is difficult to express the significance of this ruling: it marks a watershed for women and, in particular, lesbians who have seen their rights and identities steadily stolen from them over the last decade.’
The real madness is that....it shouldn't really have come to this.
I have never understood Trans hatred against lesbians...lesbians are biological women who are attracted to other biological women...there should never have been an issue with that.
Have to admit I'm not totally up to speed with this, so it leaves me with some questions
If I have it right the ruling says that sex is binary and based on your gender at birth.
So you're either male or female.
But how about someone born male but who has had reassignment surgery and now has physical female parts.
Would that person now be defined as a woman, if not, what would they be in law?
Hoping someone more au fait with this stuff can help clarify
They have spent their adult lives, being mentally assessed, having gender reassignment surgeries and mostly just want to live and let live.
My heartfelt thanks goes to every person out there who has fought so hard for this to be put this, legally, out there, particularly those that have been threatened, ridiculed, bullied, assaulted and lost employment throughout this lunacy.
It goes without saying that it should never have come to this.
Let the squealing, protests and boycott threats begin.
Yeah, considering these blokes, pretending to be women, class themselves as lesbians how can they hate the very thing they claim to be and what the hell is a male gay lesbian?
I have never been able to get my head around trans “logic”.
Of course they won’t. This will add to their ongoing “genocide” claims, they’ve already disgustingly compared their “persecution” to the Holocaust.
Nicola Sturgeon, on hearing the Supreme Court decision:
It doesn't matter if a man has had his bits cut off or not, legally he is still male.
Two sexes, male and female.
I was so pleased to hear the ruling this morning and it's a bloody disgrace it got as far as the Supreme court to say what a woman is.
Hopefully this will end the insanity of 6ft 5ins build like a brick shithoose competing against women in sport, plus the indignity of a man in women's hospital wards.
Then there's the prisons, rape shelters.
It's disgusting the way women have been treated.
Sorry, pic was showing in preview and somehow disappeared when posted. Here’s the tweet link…
https://x.com/bindelj/status/1912474158421750216
How many of these pretend “women” are now going to drop their act?…no legal standing in demanding access to female changing rooms, toilets, sports and the likes.
The case against Sandie Peggie... Upton must be piddling his Y-fronts at the thought of undressing with his fellow male colleagues.
Unfortunately, in life, you can't have it all.
Trans sportswomen will just have to accept that even if they have had gender realignment, they can't and should have never been allowed to compete against biological women.
Why would a genuine trans want the advantage anyway? I expect in the sports world, there will be fewer men now deciding they are in fact...women.