On 7 May, KCL Socialist Worker Student Society (KCL SWSS) led a trans rights protest in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling that womanhood is defined by biological sex, joined by feminist, LGBTQ+ and liberation groups from KCL, as well as students from LSE and SOAS.
Responses to the ruling have been mixed and impassioned. Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the ruling, arguing that it provides “clarity”.
Starmer’s comments come despite the fact that he previously stated, “Trans women are women.”
Sports organisations have been quick to react, with many barring trans women from participating in female sporting activities. Other supporters of the Supreme Court’s ruling include certain feminists such as J K Rowling.
Women were photographed toasting with champagne outside the Supreme Court when the decision was made – a response that has been criticised as insensitive.
Critics of the recent ruling argued that it is not a ‘win’ for feminism, but rather, an additional step to persecute an already marginalised and small community.
In a statement following the ruling, King’s reaffirmed its support for trans and non-binary students, acknowledging the ruling’s potential impact and outlining support services available to those affected.
At the demonstration on the Strand, handmade placards were daubed with slogans such as “Where am I supposed to piss now?”, “Black trans lives matter” and “KCL students support trans rights”.
Robin Shapiro, a KCL Comparative Literature student and President of the KCL Intersectional Feminist Society, argued that the Supreme Court ruling, “erased the existence of trans women”. He stated that the decision does nothing to protect women, as “men do not need to masquerade as women to commit sexual assault”.
Meanwhile, Ardour, an LSE politics student and LGBTQ+ officer, argued that “this ruling is an attack on all our basic rights”, and criticised LSE’s decision to leave LGBTQ-rights charity Stonewall in 2023.
The third speaker, who identified as a trans woman and asked not to be named for their safety, argued that the recent ruling made trans women a ‘subaltern and subhuman’ class.
Antonia, a member of KCL SWSS, argued that the ruling “sends a message that some lives… can be legislated out of existence”.
Tara, a SOAS student, reminded onlookers that trans people led many liberation movements and thus deserved others to campaign for them. She affirmed, “Trans women are women, trans men are men, non-binary people exist.”
Throughout the event, slogans were chanted by the organisers and onlookers, including, “We’re here, we’re queer, trans lives matter loud and clear” and “Fuck your system, fuck your hate, we are not here for debate”.
Protestors were moved by a poem written and read by Ali, a KCL medical student who identifies as non-binary. Ali originally wrote the piece for the 2024 Trans Day of Remembrance, an annual memorial in November remembering those who have been killed as a result of transphobia.
In their poem, Ali reflected on how “the world remains unkind to our kind” and emphasised the need to “break the lock of heteronormativity”.
The organisers of the event, many of whom identified as queer or LGBTQ+ themselves, told Roar that, whilst “it has been amazing to see everyone come together over this issue… This is not the end”.
Second-year undergraduate at King’s College London reading Culture, Media and Creative Industries.
