EHRC code on single sex spaces comes into force on 5th August 2026

Being transgender isn't about believing women wear dresses or act a certain way; it's about a person's gender identity.

Is there a way to tell the difference between a man who is pretending to be a woman and a man who is actually a woman?

Because we can't see inside their heads to see their "gender identity." If you know of an easy way to distinguish between the two, then we could weed out all the harmful men, and just let the nice ones in (well, we could if it weren't against the law).

It would be really helpful if you could let us know how you do it, because women have been wondering about this for years,and no one seems to have an answer.

Thanks.

They do matter. Women's privacy, dignity, and safety should absolutely be taken seriously. The question isn't whether those concerns are real—it's how we balance them with the rights and safety of transgender people.
Not every situation is the same. Prisons, hospital wards, domestic violence refuges, intimate care, and public toilets all involve different levels of risk and vulnerability, so it's reasonable for policies to differ depending on the context. Many services already make decisions based on individual risk rather than applying a blanket rule either way.
I don't think it's helpful to frame this as "women versus trans women." Both groups deserve compassion and protection. We should be looking for evidence-based policies that protect vulnerable people without assuming that all transgender women are a threat simply because they're transgender.

In other words: "womanhood" and "gender identity" are meaningless concepts, since they are entirely dependent on whoever is discussing them at any given time.

Thus, they cannot be used to make laws.

Which is why under UK law, womanhood refers exclusively to the biological female sex. Under that definition, transwomen are not women, and don't belong in female single-sex spaces.

What about male bodies in women's prisons? What about elderly women asking for female intimate carers and being assigned male-bodied people? What about female victims of sexual assault having to tolerate the presence of male-bodied people in their support group? And so on and so forth. This isn't just about the toilets, far from it.

And even if it were: there are plenty of women who feel unsafe in the presence of male-bodied people in the women's toilets. Don't they matter too?

Womanhood doesn't have a single universally accepted definition. Some people define it purely in terms of biological sex, while others include the social and personal experience of living and being recognised as a woman. That's one of the reasons these debates are so difficult—people often start from different definitions.
Gender identity is generally understood as a person's internal sense of whether they are a woman, a man, or another gender. It isn't something that can be directly measured like blood pressure or height. Instead, it's understood through a person's consistent experience of themselves over time. For transgender people, that experience doesn't align with the sex they were assigned at birth, and for many this is accompanied by significant distress, known as gender dysphoria.
Importantly, gender identity isn't the same thing as believing women wear dresses or men like football. Most transgender people aren't defining gender by stereotypes. The idea is that a person's internal sense of self can differ from their biological sex, even though people disagree about how that should be understood or reflected in law and society.

Why? You were just going to pee? Also where does that end, how did you prove it???

But we are going to question people as they just try and go for a pee. So we are clear thats the biggest thing to concern ourselves with?

Fine. I'm tall and broad,for a woman, and I have been challenged in the women's toilets. Why should that be a problem? I am pleased that other women challenge someone who they think might be a man.

What is "womanhood"?

What is "gender identity"? How does it manifest itself?

I don't value women any less by respecting transgender women. Recognising trans women doesn't redefine or erase cisgender women—it simply acknowledges that not everyone's experience of womanhood is the same.
I also don't accept the premise that trans women are just "sexist men." Being transgender isn't about believing women wear dresses or act a certain way; it's about a person's gender identity. Reducing all trans women to sexist caricatures ignores both the evidence and the reality of their lives.
Wanting trans women to be treated with dignity doesn't come at the expense of cisgender women. We can support women's rights, take safety seriously, and also reject the idea that an entire group should be treated as a threat simply because they're transgender.

It's an infestation

I think the female half of humanity matters enough to have a name that doesn't include men even if those men really really believe they "think and feel like women", yes.

The question is, why don't you?

Why do you value female people so little that you are happy to redefine every single one of us as people who think/feel the way male trans "women" presume we do simply for the benefit of a handful of sexist trans-identifying men?

Can you not see how sexist that it?

As a rule, yes, transmen are smaller than men, and much more feminine-looking.

Have I met any? Yes, several, including myself.

A "bit manly" woman is still clearly a lot less manly than a man, looks very much like the woman she is, and will no more be questioned than she has been until now.

I didnt know the whole of mumsnet was so illinformed and transphobic. I think thats a shame surely there are parents of trans kids on here. I hope they get love and support

Wow, and thats the end of mumsnet for me.

Good because all you've done is regurgitate the same rubbish Mumsnet has been debunking for years.
Your arguments are old, tried and wrong, so very, very wrong, so don't let the door hit you in the arse on your way out.

Are all transmen small and female looking? Have you met any. What if im 6ft 2 and a bit manly im female by birth am I now being questioned?

As much as it annoys you. Yes. I do. Transwomen are women. I am a strong fighter for equal rights. Not sure how you have made an odd leap between all the history against women and then assumed transwomen are a problem?

A small feminine-looking male-apparent person, vs. a large manly-looking one in a dress... Really, you think it's the former who's scarier?

So a transman who looks like man you are now encouraging into female spaces and this is going to make women feel better?

Do you really, genuinely believe that the fundamental difference between men and women isn't different bodies but different minds?

That all the sexist shit that people with female bodies have lived with through history, the sexual and domestic exploitation, being literal chatttels with no right to own property being actual property of men, no vote, no right to equal pay or to not be sacked for being pregnant...that being the half of humsnity that is even able to be made pregnant....that all of that doesn't matter, but having a "womanny sort of mind" does?

I mean, really?

@Mum2boys01

Everyone deserves to feel safe in public spaces. That includes cisgender women, transgender women, and anyone else using those facilities.

Indeed. And a whole lot of women (no need to specify cisgender, as women cannot be a sub-group of themselves) do not feel safe in single-sex spaces when there are male-bodied people (transwomen) around. Don't they count?

Why do transwomen care what loo then?

Just to preempt the usual question. Transmen should use female or unisex SSS.
Transmen can be asked to use only the unisex if their appearance is indistinguishable from a man

Yes

So if you are a woman, by birth does that rule also apply to you?