JK Rowling celebrates British Supreme Court Decision on Biological Sex

Known for his conservative position, JK Rowling celebrated the decision of the British Supreme Court, which defined, on Wednesday (16), what it is to be a woman. The United Kingdom has established that the concept of women is defined by biological sex.

The decision may have deep impacts on the rights of trans women. Trans citizens who have a gender recognition certificate can be excluded from exclusive services for women, such as shelters, wards and sports centers.

“I love it when a plan works,” wrote the author of “Harry Potter” in the X, with the hashtags “Supreme Court” and “Rights of Women”. In the picture, she is smoking a cigar and drinking a drink.

The writer is part of an far right sector that argues that support for trans people would be violating the rights of biological women. Protesters with the posters “Woman is Woman” and “Woman Born Woman” gathered this Wednesday in front of the Supreme Court as they awaited the decision.

Brazilian volleyball player Ana Paula Henkel congratulated the writer on the social network. Ana Paula has the same rowling position on transgender people, especially with regard to sport.

“Thank you for not accepting silence as an option. What a wonderful day for women’s rights,” wrote the athlete.

The judgment of this Wednesday focused on the interpretation of the law of British Equality, 2010, which stated: If a trans woman obtains a certificate of gender recognition after her transition, she should be considered woman and have access to the same protections as cisgender women.

Almost 8,500 people have obtained this certificate in the UK since the system was created in 2004, according to Scottish government data. However, the For Women Scotland (FWS) association presented a contestation in 2018, arguing that these protections should only apply to people designated as women at birth.