By Ryanne Czarina Villegas
“Are transwomen women?”
What sounds like a straightforward question has turned into one of the most contested and emotionally charged issues in modern discourse, one that refuses to stay theoretical and instead seeps into policy, identity, and everyday life.
This controversy exists largely because people are not arguing from the same definition of gender. For some, womanhood is rooted in biological sex: chromosomes, reproductive anatomy, and physical traits assigned at birth. From this perspective, sex is fixed, and gender is inseparable from it. Supporters of this view often argue that redefining womanhood beyond biology risks erasing sex-based realities, especially those tied to misogyny and female oppression.
Others, on the other hand, approach gender as a social and psychological identity rather than a biological category. In this view, trans women are women because gender is about lived experience, self-identification, and how one navigates the world.
Denying gender as a social construct, they argue, is not a neutral disagreement but a form of exclusion that has real consequences for trans people’s safety and well-being. A direct attack to all the progress society has made in the history of feminism.
These perspectives do not just disagree—they talk past each other. One side prioritizes material biology, while the other centers identity and experience. As a result, debates about it often feel unproductive, with neither side convinced the other is engaging in good faith.
Neither side, each with their strong opinions, are willing to yield to the view of the other. With countless arguments grounded on science, faith, traditional beliefs, or personal and moral principles, this topic resurfaces and disappears every once in a while—never actually getting to the root of the issue.
Language further complicates the debate. Terms like sex, gender, and woman mean different things depending on who is using them. For critics of gender-identity, expanding these definitions feels like moving the goalposts. For supporters, it feels like language is finally catching up to human complexity. When people believe the meaning of words themselves is at stake, discussions quickly become defensive. These are the people that are adamant on getting their preferred meaning across to the other side.
Politics has also turned the question into a cultural flashpoint. What might have once remained an academic discussion is now tied to laws affecting sports, bathrooms, prisons, healthcare access, and legal documentation. Each policy debate becomes symbolic, framed as either protecting women’s rights or affirming trans inclusion, leaving little room for nuance.
Even within feminism, the issue is deeply divisive. Some feminists argue that prioritizing gender identity over sex undermines protections built on biological realities. Others see the exclusion of trans women as reinforcing rigid gender norms and replicating systems of marginalization.
Both sides claim to be advocating for women, yet they fundamentally disagree on who that category includes.
Emotion plays a major role in why the controversy persists. For many trans women, the debate feels personal and existential, questioning their legitimacy and right to exist in public spaces.
For others, particularly cisgender women who ground their identity in shared biological experiences, the conversation can feel like an erasure of their history and struggles. When identity and lived experience are involved, neutrality becomes especially difficult.
Social media has only intensified the divide. Platforms reward bold statements and clear sides, not careful analysis. The question becomes a litmus test, pressuring influencers, beauty queens, and public figures to declare allegiance to one side rather than engage in conversation.
Ultimately, the reason this debate remains unresolved is because it forces society to confront uncomfortable questions about how gender is defined and who gets to define it.
Until there is broader agreement on whether gender is primarily biological, social, or something in between, the question “Are transwomen women?” will continue to dominate headlines, platforms, and daily conversations alike.
