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Gender critical

From LGBT History Project
Revision as of 13:20, 21 June 2026 by LGBT-HP (talk | contribs) (this article only presented the gender critical approach and did not balance it with an alternative sympathetic view, only presenting cases where gender critical won and not lost.)

Gender critical is a term used to describe a set of beliefs centred on the view that biological sex is fixed and should be treated as distinct from gender identity. The term is contested: some who hold these views describe them as a matter of established legal and philosophical principle, while others — including many trans people and LGBT organisations — regard the gender-critical movement as hostile to trans inclusion and rights. This article documents the term's use, associated organisations, and relevant legal cases; it does not take a position on the underlying debate.

In the UK, gender-critical beliefs have been found to qualify for protection as a philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010. In Forstater v CGD Europe (2021), the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that Maya Forstater's gender-critical beliefs were protected under the Act, overturning an earlier employment tribunal decision[1]. Forstater had not had her contract renewed by the Center for Global Development in 2019 after posting comments on government proposals regarding gender recognition[2]. In 2023 she was awarded compensation by an employment tribunal[3].

Other instances where gender-critical beliefs have featured in legal or employment disputes include a 2024 tribunal finding that the Green Party discriminated against former deputy leader Dr Shahrar Ali in relation to his gender-critical views[4], and the case of Rev. Dr Bernard Randall, who was barred from preaching by the Church of England after a sermon on related themes[5]. Legal disputes in this area have continued to develop; a January 2024 Guardian article reviewed several ongoing cases[6].

Organisations

A number of organisations describe themselves as gender-critical or campaign on related issues, including LGBAlliance, Sex Matters, LGB Liberal Forum, LGB Christians, Sex Matters to Quakers, SEEN, and Lesbian Labour[7]. Genspect, an international organisation associated with gender-critical perspectives, describes gender as "a social construction" which it distinguishes from biological sex[8] — a position contested by many trans rights organisations and some academics, who regard gender identity as a legitimate and independent aspect of a person's identity.

In media

The 2022 documentary Adult Human Female presented a gender-critical perspective on debates around sex and gender recognition[9]. In 2023, Channel 4 broadcast Gender Wars, featuring Kathleen Stock, a gender-critical academic who has been the subject of protest from some trans rights campaigners.

References

  1. ↑ Maya Forstater v CGD Europe UKEAT/0105/20/JOJ. The Employment Appeal Tribunal found that gender-critical beliefs, including the view that sex is fixed and distinct from gender identity, qualify as a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010.
  2. ↑ Forstater's contract at the think tank Center for Global Development (CGD) was not renewed in March 2019, after she posted comments questioning then-proposed changes to gender recognition law, which were later not implemented.
  3. ↑ "Woman who lost job after tweeting view on biological sex awarded £100,000", The Guardian, 1 July 2023.
  4. ↑ BBC News, 9 February 2024.
  5. ↑ The Telegraph, 12 August 2024.
  6. ↑ "'A politically toxic issue': the legal battles over gender-critical beliefs", The Guardian, 19 January 2024.
  7. ↑ https://lesbianlabour.com/
  8. ↑ Genspect website, accessed [date].
  9. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=94HFMSm-JBo, accessed 6 June 2023.
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