Over 1300 British writers across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, theatre, film, radio, comedy and television have signed an open letter expressing solidarity with the trans community in response to last week’s Supreme Court ruling and calling for the UK Art and Culture sector to do the same.
The letter garnered over 1000 signatures in 48 hours with signatories including Aisling Bea, Moira Buffini, Candice Carty-Williams, Caryl Churchill, Michaela Coel, Russell T Davies, Elizabeth Day, Deborah Frances-White, James Graham, Tanika Gupta, Daf James, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Alice Oseman, Sara Pascoe, Max Porter, Nikesh Shukla and Timberlake Wertenbaker.
The letter states, "The UK has become an increasingly hostile place for trans and non-binary people, with a 186% increase in hate crimes against trans people in the last five years." Signatories to the letter welcome Equity Union’s swift and emphatic response to the ruling and encourage other unions, theatres, agencies, publishers, and news outlets to sign the letter and make their own statements of how they will actively support their trans and non-binary staff, contractors, and service users to do the same.
And that, “Cultural conversations are hugely important to how people are perceived and treated in society, and it is paramount that trans visibility, representation and protection be an ongoing and sustained commitment for all arts organisations going forward, with quantifiable efforts to promote trans voices and stories.”
Here are some comments from the signatories:
“To deliver justice means to hear from both sides and the supreme court has passed this flawed and faulty judgement without hearing from a single trans person. This ruling not only makes it harder to have the nuanced debate we need about sex and gender, it creates a classic ‘other’ in our society, a group of people, already at risk of violence, who are now no longer protected by the same human rights that the rest of us enjoy. The forces of extremism must be rejoicing today, for the creation of the ‘other’, as that great writer Hannah Arendt tells us, is the origin of tyranny. I stand with love and respect, in solidarity with trans and non binary people everywhere.” Moira Buffini, Playwright, Handbagged
“Although the case was brought by women, the UK Supreme Court ruling on transgender women strikes me as deeply patriarchal and dangerous. The law may be narrowly defined but laws have a way of morphing into common usage and language slips easily. It won’t be long before we get even narrower definitions of “real” women or “acceptable” women. We know how easily and quickly people slide back into simplistic and comfortable language: we’ve seen this in the US and we’re seeing it here. It’s so much harder to forge ahead and accept complexity, particularly when dealing with sex and gender but I believe that’s the only way we can all be safe and free, physically as well as mentally. And as a playwright, I worry that some people could soon be deciding who has a biological right to write.” Timberlake Wertenbaker, Playwright, Our Country’s Good
“Everyone has the right to live without fear; to be recognised with dignity. These are human rights. Any ruling that takes place, without hearing the voices of those people impacted is completely unjust; and when that ruling means society feels less safe, and is less safe for that community, it is not a triumph of law - it is a travesty. In a progressive, enlightened society, seeming ‘oppositional’ truths have to be able to live side by side. We must find a way which makes space for all, in a humane way, without one ‘position’ attempting to erase, or worse, eradicate the other. Solidarity and compassionate justice means finding ways for antagonisms, which cannot always be easily resolved, to coexist. I fight for compassion, empathy, understanding, and dignity for all, which is why I stand in absolute solidarity with the trans and non-binary community.” Daf James, Playwright and Screenwriter, Lost Boys and Fairies
The Open Letter:
An Open Letter of Solidarity With the Trans Community from UK Writers
The UK Supreme Court ruling of 17th April 2025 was the result of a coordinated and privately funded attack on the human rights and dignity of trans and non-binary people in the UK. We call upon our industry to meet this moment with bravery and solidarity.
As writers, the undersigned stand in solidarity with the trans community. The signatories of this letter attest to the fact that writers with a bioessentialist view of womanhood and a binary view of sex and gender are in the minority. We call on our industries - theatre, film, TV, radio, literature and journalism - to do the same.
As outlined by the Good Law Project, this Supreme Court hearing took place on shaky legal ground and without the involvement of any trans voices; they also noted that had any trans organisations been involved, they would likely have been faced with harassment and threats.
The UK has become an increasingly hostile place for trans and non-binary people, with a 186% increase in hate crimes against trans people in the last five years. We are deeply concerned that this ruling will embolden a bigoted but powerful minority in their harassment of trans and non-binary people and attempts to hound gender non-conforming people out of public spaces. This will have consequences not just for trans people but for anyone who deviates from gender norms, making society less safe for everyone.
This Supreme Court ruling contributes to the erosion of the rights of marginalised LGBTQ+ communities globally. This has been seen recently in Uganda, Hungary and the US, to name only a few examples. Transparency International UK, which aims to fight corruption worldwide, warned two months ago about the impact of private donors’ influence in British politics, “with the US showing what could happen here if money in politics is left unchecked”.
The recent nomination lists for the Olivier Awards, the Booker Prize, and the T.S. Eliot Prize demonstrate the power of stories that challenge bigotry and intolerance, with LGBTQ+ writers and artists making vital contributions to the broad landscape of arts and culture, public discourse, and the economy. Cultural conversations are hugely important to how people are perceived and treated in society, and it is paramount that trans visibility, representation and protection be an ongoing and sustained commitment for all arts organisations going forward, with quantifiable efforts to promote trans voices and stories.
We applaud Equity’s swift and emphatic response to the ruling, and the specificity of their next steps of active support for their trans and non-binary members, and we call upon others to join them. We urge other unions, theatres, agencies, publishers, and news outlets to sign this letter and make their own statements of how they will actively support their trans and non-binary staff, contractors, and service users.
