As Irish women, we have a painful history of being controlled, silenced, and oppressed. For centuries, we’ve had to fight for our basic rights and our dignity, often at great cost. And while Ireland has come a long way, there are still forces at work today that aim to control us and others. One of the most worrying trends right now is the rise of anti-trans rhetoric—ideas that are often wrapped in a guise of “protecting women” but in reality, are just another way of dividing us and hurting those who are already vulnerable.
It’s crucial that we, as Irish women, understand the dangers of this ideology, how it connects to our own history, and why we must stand against it—not just for the sake of trans people, but for ourselves as well.
The Trauma of Ireland’s Past: The Mother and Baby Homes and the Oppression of Women
To understand why some Irish women might be drawn to anti-trans ideas, we need to look back at the history that shaped us. One of the most tragic chapters in Ireland’s history is the legacy of the “Mother and Baby Homes”, where thousands of women were incarcerated, forced into slavery, and subjected to inhumane treatment. The women who were held there were often poor, unmarried, or otherwise deemed “fallen” by the Church and state. These women were not given a choice. They were confined, silenced, and punished for their existence in a way that is nothing short of cruel.
To call these institutions “Mother and Baby Homes” is an insult to the women who were held there. It sanitizes the truth of what these women endured. The reality is that these women were incarcerated in forced labour camps where they were treated like property, used for their labor. Many of them were made to work in harsh conditions, and their children were often taken from them—sometimes trafficked, sold, or sent to families who could afford to pay for them. These women were robbed of their dignity, their rights, and in many cases, their children. The Catholic Church, which ran many of these institutions, perpetuated a system that treated these women as subhuman, using their bodies to sustain the power of the Church and the state.
When we talk about the abuse these women faced, it is not just about the physical and emotional harm—it’s about the systematic way their bodies were controlled. The Church and state used women’s reproductive rights as a tool for punishment. These women were made to feel that they were “fallen” or “sinful” for having sex, yet the men who impregnated them faced no punishment. They were left to suffer, often in isolation, with their babies forcibly removed from them. These women were denied agency, their bodies reduced to mere vessels for childbirth. This was not care—it was an institution of punishment, control, and oppression.
The trauma of these institutions is still felt today. The descendants of these women continue to fight for recognition, for justice, for truth. And yet, we are still fighting the same forces of control that sought to break our spirits and limit our power.
But perhaps the most horrifying aspect of this story is that the women who ran these institutions—the nuns—were often as abusive as the systems they served. In these homes, women were shamed, controlled, and denied their basic rights. They were victims of a system that sought to break their spirits, to make them feel worthless. This is the same system that now seeks to suppress trans women by claiming they are a threat to women’s rights.
When women like us turn on other women—whether it’s by shaming single mothers or by pushing back against trans women’s rights—we are repeating the very same patterns of oppression that have hurt us for generations. We are echoing the same logic that the Church used to control our bodies, our choices, and our lives. When we support the marginalisation of trans women, we are allowing the same systems that once hurt us to hurt others. It’s time we recognised this and broke the cycle.
How Anti-Trans Ideology Is Just Another Form of Oppression
At first glance, the arguments against trans rights might seem to focus on protecting women. But when we dig deeper, we see that this is not about protecting women at all. It’s about reinforcing old ideas about gender—ideas that are harmful, limiting, and deeply rooted in the very systems that have kept women oppressed for centuries.
Anti-trans rhetoric is based on the belief that there is a “right” way to be a man and a “right” way to be a woman—ideas that the Church has long promoted. This rigid binary view of gender is not only outdated, it’s harmful. Just as the Church once tried to define what it meant to be a “good” woman, it now seeks to define who can be a “real” woman or a “real” man. But this view of gender is not natural—it’s a socially constructed idea that was used to control and suppress people, especially women.
By supporting anti-trans rhetoric, we are allowing these harmful, outdated ideas to continue. We are allowing the same forces that tried to oppress us to continue oppressing others. It’s important to see that anti-trans ideology is really anti-women—it’s about telling people that they don’t have the right to define themselves, to live authentically, and to exist without fear of shame or violence.
A Historical Perspective: Non-Binary Views of Gender
Before the Catholic Church imposed its rigid views on gender in Ireland, there was a time when our ancestors had different understandings of gender. In ancient Ireland, there were beliefs and traditions that were far more fluid when it came to gender identity, allowing space for people who didn’t fit neatly into the categories of “man” and “woman.” But much of this history has been erased, suppressed, and lost due to colonisation and the influence of the Church. The result is that many of us don’t even know the rich, diverse history of gender in our own culture. We must realise that when we cling to these ideas of “natural womanhood,” we are not celebrating an inherent truth—we are reinforcing a colonial lie that was never ours to begin with, a lie designed to divide us and keep us in rigid, limiting roles.
And so some of us call for protection of “real women,” believing in “a natural woman,” not even realizing that our idea of what a “natural woman” is has been imposed on us by colonisers. These ideas of “womanhood” and “femininity” were never ours to begin with—they were foisted upon us by systems that sought to control our bodies and our lives, systems that continue to push us into rigid roles. This rhetoric often excludes and marginalises those who don’t fit the imposed idea of “woman”—such as trans women, or even AFAB individuals who do not conform to the narrow expectations of what it means to be a woman. We must recognise how this idea of a “real” or “natural” woman is deeply rooted in colonialism and patriarchy, not truth, and how it has harmed many of us by defining us by restrictive, outdated standards.
When we look to Native American tribes, we see similar patterns of understanding gender. Many of these cultures had a long tradition of recognising and respecting people who were non-binary, often referred to as “Two-Spirit” people. These individuals didn’t fit into the rigid gender roles imposed by colonial powers but were respected and seen as having special spiritual or cultural roles.
We must remember that these diverse views on gender existed long before colonisation imposed its binary thinking on the world. Just as colonial forces sought to control the bodies and identities of Native Americans, the Church sought to do the same with Irish people—particularly Irish women. And now, that same colonial mentality is being used to suppress trans people and their right to live as their authentic selves.
The Need for Solidarity: Supporting Trans Women Is Supporting All Women
The fight for women’s rights should never be a competition. We should never pit women against women, as the Church did with the women in the prisons we still have the cheek to call “Mother and Baby Homes”. Trans women are women. Their struggle is our struggle. When we fight for their right to exist, we are fighting for our own rights too.
Trans women deserve the same respect, dignity, and protection as cisgender women. We cannot allow the same systems that have oppressed us to continue oppressing others. We cannot let ourselves be drawn into the rhetoric that says trans women are a threat to women’s rights. In fact, that rhetoric is simply another form of oppression that seeks to divide us, to set us against each other, and to keep us from standing together in solidarity.
When we support trans women, we are standing up for the freedom to define ourselves. We are standing up for a world where no one is forced into rigid gender roles, where everyone can be who they truly are without fear of shame or violence. This is not just a fight for trans people—it’s a fight for all women, for all marginalised genders, and for anyone who has ever been told they don’t belong.
Breaking the Cycle: Rejecting Divisive Rhetoric
It’s important that we, as Irish women, recognise the ways in which we’ve been hurt by oppressive systems—and how we can avoid repeating the same mistakes. We cannot allow ourselves to be complicit in the oppression of others, especially when it’s disguised as “protecting women.”
Our history of resistance—against the Church, against colonialism, against patriarchy—has taught us the value of solidarity, the importance of standing together for a common cause. This is the same solidarity that we need today. We need to stand together with trans women, with marginalised genders, and with anyone who has been oppressed. We cannot let anti-trans rhetoric tear us apart.
The Church tried to define what it meant to be a ‘good’ woman, and now it is trying to define what it means to be a man or a woman. It’s time for us to reject this narrow, harmful thinking and embrace a world where everyone can be free to express themselves, to live authentically, and to be accepted for who they are.
We can break the cycle of oppression. We can stand together, united, for a better future—for all women, for all trans people, and for a world where no one is made to feel less than.
Let’s make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself. Let’s make sure that we, as Irish women, are on the right side of it.
Let’s be clear: the idea that we need “protecting” as women is, in itself, a sexist notion. It implies we are helpless, dependent on others to safeguard our rights and bodies. But we’re not. We don’t need protection from trans people—we need protection from the forces that seek to divide us, oppress us, and make us feel less than. And here’s the reality: supporting trans rights is supporting women’s rights. It’s supporting human rights.
Not so long ago the Catholic Church claimed it was protecting women’s virtue, morality, and place in society. In reality this “protection” led to forced incarcerations, abuse in Magdalene Laundries and “Mother and Baby” institutions, and lifelong trauma.
They said it was to protect us. But really, it was to control us. So when someone says we must ‘protect real women’ from trans women, we need to ask—who gets to define what’s real? And why?
Women were told for centuries they were too emotional, too weak, too irrational—because of “biology.” It was never about science. It was about maintaining power. If we know that biology was used to keep us down, why would we now weaponise biology to keep others out?
Anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns claimed that gay marriage would destroy the “sanctity of the family.” It was a fight to prevent queer people from having equal rights. Remember how they said marriage equality would destroy families? It didn’t. Just like trans rights don’t destroy womanhood—they expand our understanding of it.
