Poem on Sunday: This is not protection

Llinos Dafydd 

I’m not trans. But I’m an advocate. And I’m angry.

This poem is a response to the UK Supreme Court ruling that says trans women can legally be excluded from single-sex spaces — even if they hold a gender recognition certificate.

It’s being called “clarity.”

I call it something else.

This Is Not Protection

(for my trans sisters, and anyone listening)

Don’t tell me this is protection.
Don’t dress up exclusion
as safety.
Don’t wave “biological sex”
like a badge
and expect me to call it neutral.

You’ve changed the law
to feel more comfortable.
Not safe.
Not kind.
Not fair.
Just comfortable.

You’ve turned courtrooms
into cages
and called it clarity.

But I see who you’re locking out.
Who you’re shaming,
blaming,
blurring,
burying
under headlines
you don’t even bother
to read past.

This isn’t about danger.
This is about control.
It’s about saying:
“You don’t belong.”
“You’re not one of us.”
“You’re close, but not quite.”
“You’re real, but not really.”

Well, fuck that.

You don’t get to draw the line
then blame them
for standing on the wrong side.
You don’t get to call it feminism
when it punches down.

I am not trans.
But I am furious.
And I am standing
with every woman
who’s been told
her body is a debate,
her identity is a threat,
her existence is a loophole.

You say this is protection?
No.
This is power,
grabbing itself another handful
of rights
that were never yours
to begin with.

Llinos Dafydd