“Anti-trans groups would have everyone believe that to be pro-trans is to be anti-women, we know this isn’t true. The NION [not in our name] letter is our attempt to show the strength and breadth of support that exists for trans people, from everyday women. We want to give these women a voice, a place to say: I support trans people”, said a representative of the group behind a petition that is making waves.
After running for just short of a month, the petition has gathered over 35,000 signatures – from cisgender women who want to stress their support for the trans community. It follows a Supreme Court decision that reversed the previous understanding of how trans people are defined in the Equality Act. That decision led to the issuing of guidance by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) which was then withdrawn after an intervention by the Good Law Project. At a confusing time, the petitioners wanted to make their position clear.
“The urgency comes from witnessing the escalation of anti-trans rhetoric and attempts to bring about legislation which we have already seen begin to undermine the liberation of all women. We acted now because we believe silence is complicity and we have had enough of politicians and media outlets profiting from moral panic while refusing to address systemic male violence.”
Campaigns to exclude trans people decried as ‘false feminism’
The petition refers to recent campaigns against trans equality as “false feminism that abandons the most vulnerable women leaving all women at greater risk”. What should we understand by that?
“False feminism is any movement that claims to advance women’s rights while actually reinforcing patriarchal structures and abandoning the most vulnerable women”, the representative said.
“We believe true intersectional feminism recognises that women’s liberation cannot be achieved by abandoning other marginalised groups. False feminism, by contrast, accepts the patriarchal premise that there isn’t enough safety, dignity, or rights to go around, that women must compromise and settle for less, rather than demanding justice for all.
“When we see movements claiming to protect women while simultaneously targeting trans women – who face extraordinary rates of violence and discrimination – we recognise this as false feminism and it often disproportionately impacts women of colour, gender non-conforming women or women in poverty. It’s not protecting women, it’s redirecting attention away from the systems that actually harm us.
“False feminism weakens all women by fragmenting our collective power and misdirecting our energy away from the real sources of harm. When we allow ourselves to be divided, we become easier targets for those who would maintain the status quo rather than focusing on change that will make our lives better.
“The patriarchal systems that oppress cisgender women (a term we know can be divisive but which we use intentionally to highlight that we are exactly the women who are supposedly being spoken for) are the same systems that oppress trans women – they’re rooted in rigid gender hierarchies, the policing of bodies, and the punishment of anyone who doesn’t conform to prescribed roles. By targeting trans women, we believe false feminism actually reinforces these systems rather than challenging them.
“The rhetoric used against trans and non-binary people in general and trans men in particular – questioning their bodily autonomy, their ability to know their own minds, their right to exist in public spaces – sets a dangerous precedent. We need look no further than the recent overturning of Roe v Wade in the US, and more recently the debate around abortion here in the UK to see how this approach impacts women.”
Protecting the rights of women and girls
They are clear on the action that they would like to see taken to improve the safety of women and girls.
“Politicians must address the root causes of violence against all women rather than deflecting blame onto marginalised communities. Concrete actions span everything from comprehensive education for boys and young men – who are also impacted by patriarchal expectations – to reforming the criminal justice systems that consistently fail to prosecute male violence against women. Improved funding for domestic violence services, rape crisis centers, and support for survivors is needed, as are workplace protections that address harassment and discrimination – the list goes on.”
The EHRC’s Akua Reindorf recently said that trans people don’t have the rights that they thought they did, and should adjust to that “because other people have rights”.
“We believe this assertion fundamentally misunderstands how rights work and reflects exactly the kind of thinking that characterises false feminism”, the spokesperson responded. “Equality laws are created from a starting point of including everyone. Rights are not a pie to be divided up. The suggestion that trans people should simply ‘adjust’ to having fewer rights than they believed is both cruel and legally problematic.
“From an intersectional feminist perspective, this argument is particularly troubling because it accepts the premise that marginalised groups should be grateful for whatever scraps of dignity society deigns to offer them. It echoes historical arguments used to justify the exclusion of women, people of colour, and other groups from full participation in society.
“True feminism recognises that our liberation is interconnected. The systems that deny trans people basic rights and dignity are the same systems that have historically oppressed all women. When we accept that some people deserve fewer rights, we legitimise the logic that can be used to restrict anyone’s rights.
“Rather than telling trans people to ‘adjust’, we should be working together to expand rights and protections for everyone. We are not saying this is an easy fix, but that we believe it is possible, given the complex issues society grapples with every day. The goal should be creating a society where all people can live with dignity, not managing the distribution of inequality.”
