Responses have flooded social media and the streets after the ruling defined the terms “woman” and “lesbian”
BY DIVA STAFF, IMAGE BY JUAN MOYANO
Last week, the UK Supreme Court announced its “unanimous decision” that the terms “woman” and “sex” refer to biological women and biological sex in the Equality Act 2010. The ruling quickly sparked outrage among LGBTQIA people and allies, with many quick to organise protests, petitions and social media campaigns to protect and support trans women.
At the London protest on Saturday 20 April, lesbians were quick to march in solidarity, holding up a banner that read #LWithTheT. For some lesbians online – both cis and trans – the ruling has also been deemed an attack on their identity.
So what has the ruling said about defining the term “lesbian”? The ruling stated that “a person with same sex orientation as a lesbian must be a female who is sexually oriented towards (or attracted to) females”. Given the ruling’s definition of a “woman”, this can be read as referring to cis lesbians only.
Some lesbians have taken to social media to reject this ruling, stating that they now feel like their identity has been taken from them as they are in relationships with trans women. One user wrote on X: “If you’re a lesbian who dates a trans woman, you aren’t a lesbian anymore in the eyes of the law. This is the new wave of feminism people: old straight men defining YOUR queerness.”
Research by Just Like Us has found that 96% of young lesbians are “very supportive” of trans people. Given the outpouring of allyship and love seen across the country, it’s clear that there are lesbians who are ready to stand up for trans women.
The ruling also stated that without defining the term “woman”, lesbians would lose “autonomy and dignity” in areas such as bars and clubs. It even stated that “evidence referred to by the second interveners suggests that this is having a chilling effect on lesbians who are no longer using lesbian-only spaces because of the presence of trans women.” Who were those second interveners? Known “gender critical” organisations like LGB Alliance, Sex Matters and The Lesbian Project.
Response from lesbian clubs and bars tells a very different story. Organisations like Mint Events, who have been hosting LGBTQIA events since 2006, wrote on Instagram: “We stand with our trans community. Always.” Butch, Please!, a club night designed to amplify butch identities, posted a rallying cry calling out the ruling, writing “the category of woman is limitless, expansive and imaginative”.
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