The UK supreme court and the definition of a woman

英国最高法院与“女性”的定义

Today in Focus

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2025-04-23

38 分钟
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A ruling on equality law has caused relief, fear – and confusion. Libby Brooks reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
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  • This is The Guardian.

  • Today, the Supreme Court and the definition of a woman.

  • Last week,

  • the highest court in the UK came to a momentous decision about something once considered so simple that it was barely worth a discussion.

  • The legal definition of a woman.

  • The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.

  • In a nutshell, if the midwife said it's a girl when you were born, then you're considered a woman.

  • If they said you're a boy, then legally you are male.

  • regardless of how you may come to identify in later life, any surgery you may have undergone,

  • whatever hormones you may take, and in spite of any certificate you may hold to the contrary.

  • As a result of this judgment,

  • single-sex spaces and services can now declare that only biological women are welcome,

  • from lesbian bars and swimming pool changing rooms to domestic violence refuges and NHS wards.

  • For some, the victory was a triumph of common sense.

  • Everyone knows what sex is and you can't change it.

  • So it's basic common sense and the fact that we have been down a rabbit hole where people have tried to deny science and to deny reality and hopefully this will now see us back to reality.

  • For others, it was a backwards step.

  • Whether it was the intention of the ruling or not,

  • the ruling makes it significantly less safe to be openly trans in Britain now,

  • and that's terrifying.