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Gender-critical refers to the belief that sex in humans is biological and immutable, and distinct from gender identity.

Originating in gender-critical feminism, the term gender-critical is now used more broadly to refer to these beliefs even in the absence of a specific feminist standpoint. Gender-critical views have achieved a degree of prominence in the United Kingdom, where they have been at the centre of a number of high-profile legal cases and controversies. Gender-critical beliefs are classed as a protected belief under the UK Equality Act 2010.

These views have been described as transphobic by feminist and scholarly critics, and are opposed by many feminist and LGBT rights organizations.

Sex and gender
Gender-critical feminists equate "women" with what they consider to be a "female sex class", and view historical and contemporary oppression of women as being rooted in their being female, while "gender" is a system of social norms which functions to oppress women on the basis of their sex. They believe sex is biological and cannot be changed, and that biological sex should be a protected characteristic under equality legislation. Furthermore, gender critics emphasise the view that sex is binary, as opposed to a continuous spectrum, and that the two sexes have an objective, material basis as opposed to being socially constructed.

Gender-critical feminists promote the idea that sex is important.

In gender-critical discourse, the terms man and woman are used as sex-terms, assigned no more meaning than adult human male and adult human female respectively, in contrast to feminist theorists who argue these terms embody a social category distinct from matters of biology (usually referred to as gender), with masculinity and femininity representing normative characteristics thereof. The phrase adult human female has become a slogan in gender-critical politics, and has been described as transphobic.

Sex-based rights
Gender critical feminists advocate what they call "sex-based rights," arguing that "women's human rights are based upon sex" and that "these rights are being eroded by the promotion of 'gender identity.'" The term is used, primarily in the UK, to refer to a variety of legal positions and political objectives, including:


 * Existing exceptions defined in the UK Equality Act 2010. These exceptions do not grant any right for individuals to be offered single-sex services, but do allow service providers to offer such services, if they are "a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim".
 * Proposed changes to the Equality Act to define sex as biological sex
 * The belief that sex is central to the definition of women and women's rights, as opposed to basing law on gender identity.

The gender-critical movement argues that recognition of transgender women as women conflicts with these rights.

United Kingdom
In 2016, the House of Commons' Women and Equalities Committee issued a report recommending that the Gender Recognition Act 2004 be updated "in line with the principles of gender self-declaration". Later in 2016, in England and Wales, a proposal was developed under Theresa May's government to revise the Act to introduce self-identification, with a public consultation opening in 2018. This proposed reform became a key locus of conflict for the emerging gender-critical feminist movement, with a number of groups such as Fair Play For Women, For Women Scotland, and Woman's Place UK being formed. In 2020, Boris Johnson's government dropped the reforms, instead reducing the cost of a gender recognition certificate and moving the application process online.

Another key locus of conflict for the emerging movement was the stance of LGBT rights charity Stonewall on trans issues. In 2015, Stonewall had begun campaigning for trans equality, with Stonewall head Ruth Hunt apologising for the organisation's previous failure to do so. In 2019, the LGB Alliance was founded in opposition to Stonewall, accusing the organization of having "undermined women's sex-based rights and protections" and attempting "to introduce confusion between biological sex and the notion of gender."

2019 also saw the preliminary hearings of Maya Forstater v Centre for Global Development, in which tax expert and researcher Maya Forstater made a claim that she had been discriminated against by her employer for her gender-critical beliefs. In June 2021 Maya Forstater, who lost her job with the Centre for Global Development, won an appeal against the original employment tribunal decision. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) found that gender-critical beliefs, such as the view that sex is fixed and should not be conflated with gender identity, did qualify for protection under the Equality Act 2010. This means that "gender critical" beliefs are protected "philosophical beliefs" for equality law purposes. In June 2023 Forstater was awarded more than £100,000 in compensation by an employment tribunal.

Legal cases in the UK
In 2019, the Maya Forstater v Centre for Global Development tribunal case was launched by Maya Forstater, crowdfunding over £120,000. Earlier that year, Forstater's consulting contract for the Centre for Global Development was not renewed after she made a number of social media posts saying that men cannot change into women. Forstater subsequently sued the centre, alleging that she had been discriminated against because of her views. Forstater lost her initial case, with the judge ruling that her beliefs were not protected under the Equality Act due to their absolutism. However, in April 2021, the initial judgement was reversed, with the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling that gender-critical beliefs were protected under the Equality Act. A full merits hearing on Forstater's claim that she lost her employment as a result of these beliefs was heard in March 2022, and the decision, delivered in July 2022, was that Forstater had been subjected to direct discrimination and victimisation because of her gender-critical beliefs.

The Forstater case has been used as a precedent for several claims of discrimination against people holding gender-critical views. Successful claims include cases against a barrister's chambers, Arts Council England, the UK Council for Psychotherapy, Westminster Council and Social Work England. A claim by someone who had misgendered service users at the Department for Work and Pensions failed. The barrister Georgiana Calvert-Lee commented to the Guardian: "Above all, in a pluralistic society, which is what we want, you have to accept that people are going to have different views".

In January 2024, Jo Phoenix was successful in a claim against the Open University for discrimination on the grounds of gender-critical beliefs. The tribunal ruled that she had been constructively unfairly dismissed, and that she had suffered victimisation and harassment in the form of an open letter from 386 of her colleagues, as well as individual disparagement for her views, including one professor comparing her to "the racist uncle at the Christmas table".