JK Rowling Praises UK Supreme Court Ruling Defining ‘Woman’ As Biological Female: ‘Love It When…’

Author JK Rowling welcomed the landmark ruling by the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court which noted that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer strictly to biological sex.

As per the decision, transgender women and those holding Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs) have been excluded from the legal definition of “woman” under the Equality Act 2010. The case originated from a challenge by the advocacy group For Women Scotland- which JK Rowling supports- against the Scottish government.

What JK Rowling Said On UK Supreme Court’s Ruling
JK Rowling said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), “It took three extraordinary, tenacious Scottish women with an army behind them to get this case heard by the Supreme Court and, in winning, they’ve protected the rights of women and girls across the UK.”​ She also confirmed her financial support for the group’s legal efforts and said that she has donated £70,000 to their crowdfunding campaign.

Backlash Against UK Supreme Court’s Ruling
While women’s rights organisations hailed the ruling, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, including Stonewall and Scottish Trans, expressed concern over the potential implications for transgender individuals.

Amnesty International criticised the decision, saying that “a blanket policy of barring trans women from single-sex services is not a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate aim.”

Jane Fae, director of advocacy group TransActual said that the ruling has reversed progress and it won’t be the end of the matter. She said, “20 years ago the UK government was being taken to court on a regular basis because it was denying human rights to trans people. It was losing case after case, and what happened in response to that was the gender recognition act. They’ve now put it back to where we were because what this ruling has effectively done has excluded trans people from large swathes of society.”