By Danna Galván Hernández (she/her/they)
The debate about feminist activism and trans rights in Spain has become critical. With the passage of the 'Trans Law' (Ley 04/2023), discussions over whether transgender people’s aims will be included in feminism have intensified both online and offline. Though social media may have created a sense of deep division regarding trans inclusion in feminism in Spain, psychological research suggests reality is much more nuanced.
How do cisgender women (women who were assigned female at birth) actively support or oppose trans-inclusive policies?
Research conducted by the University of Granada examined cisgender women's psychological processes behind their beliefs and behaviours toward trans-inclusive feminism. This research was carried out in Spain between 2021 and 2024, capturing the intense societal shifts surrounding the passing of the so-called 'Trans Law'. By surveying local and national cohorts, the team sought to understand how these highly publicised political debates directly reshaped everyday feminist solidarity. Not only do their findings provide a critique of how anti-trans discourse has weaponised online conflict, but they also offer insight into how solidarity can be established.
Examining the 'zero-sum' trap
“The central demands of trans liberation are not merely aligned with, and no threat to, gay rights and feminism, but are synonymous with the goals of those movements.”
To gain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which public perceptions are developed, the research team designed multiple online fictional scenarios. First, participants were randomly assigned to read either articles about trans rights being aligned with feminist aims, or that articles that suggested conflict between feminism and trans rights.
The results underscore how powerfully media framing shapes public opinion. Individuals who saw media stories focused on conflict between transgender and feminist aims were more likely to express ‘zero-sum beliefs’ than someone exposed to media framing the relationship as cooperative.
‘Zero-sum beliefs’ refers to the perception that the advancement of one population inherently creates a disadvantage for another through loss of rights, resources, or personal safety. In this study, cisgender women who perceived transgender individuals as a threat to their hard-won spaces were less willing to support trans-inclusive collective efforts.
Solidarity through feminism
On the other hand, the findings indicate that feminist identity acts as a counterfactual mechanism.
Feminists do not by nature exclude different groups of individuals from supportive coalition-building; in fact, a strong feminist identity provides a significant buffer against demonstrated antagonism toward other groups. Two studies run by Galván-Hernández et al., found that 89.4% of women in Granada supported legislation to promote trans-rights (n=715). This indicates a deeply rooted foundation of solidarity between groups that have historically resisted patriarchal oppression and discrimination. Feminists do not necessarily feel they must be 'the same' to act together, however this natural solidarity is compromised when divisive political rhetoric reframes diversity as a threat.
Moving forward: 'win-win' strategies
These insights led the authors to conclude that for effective social mobilisation, feminists should focus on what unites them rather than fixating on who belongs to which group. For example, movements can achieve greater cohesion by prioritising overarching goals, such as dismantling patriarchal structures of power. The research identified a number of structural interventions that could be implemented in university environments to afford inclusion to all women, while mitigating against a defensive zero-sum anxiety response from cisgender women.
These implementation recommendations include:
· Creating a confidential resource for cisgender women to communicate their concerns and get accurate evidence-based information regarding the inclusion of transgender individuals in sports.
· Developing a fully inclusive gender-based curriculum within universities that promotes the normalisation of bodily, sexual, and gender diversity.
· Establishing institutional educational campaigns to actively debunk negative myths and stereotypes related to transgender individuals.
· Creating dedicated counselling and wellness resources that are available to both the cisgender and transgender community.
· Creating supportive infrastructure within the university, such as single occupancy and genders neutral washrooms for those who require additional privacy.
· Establishing specific institutional strategies for dealing with anti-LGBTIQA+ rhetoric, with support and resources from trained professionals.
Conclusion
While the implementation of trans-inclusive policies remains ongoing, careful management of the narrative surrounding these rights is critical. Polarisation inhibits the advancement of feminism. Divisive beliefs are supported by the perception that human rights are limited in supply. By shifting the focus away from divisive rhetoric and towards shared objectives, movements can build bridges rather than walls. True feminist solidarity does not require erasing our differences but rather recognising and celebrating them in the pursuit of more just societies.
Contact: Danna Galván Hernández, Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Granada (dannagalher@ugr.es).
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Galván‐Hernández, D., Estevan‐Reina, L., Del Fresno‐Díaz, Á., Frohn, F., Wright, S., & De Lemus, S. (2026). Bridging the divide: Understanding the psychological factors influencing feminist women’s support to transgender related policies. Political Psychology, 47(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.70032
Header image credit: Luis García (Zaqarbal) via creative commons