International Women’s Day: The cis women who are fiercely fighting transphobia
These cis women use their platform for good (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images/GOV Arturo Holmes/WireImage/Treyvon E. Eugene/John Clark/BAFTA/James D. Morgan/ Stuart C. Wilson)
This International Women’s Day we have rounded up a list of iconic cis women who are proud trans allies and are using their platforms to fight against transphobia.
The annual day, which celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of all women, takes place on 8 March every year.
Alongside celebrating women’s achievements, the day is also an opportunity to look to the work still needed to be done, particularly in countries where women and girls are denied access to basic rights like access to education, freedom of speech and bodily autonomy.
Amid the sweeping transphobia we are seeing across the world, the following cis women are standing firm that transphobia is not in their name.
Kate Nash
Brit-Award-winning singer Kate Nash, best-known for her Noughties track “Foundations”, is a staunchly outspoken trans ally and in 2025 release “GERM”, a pro-trans song that described trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) as “not rad at all” and instead “exclusionary, regressive, misogynist”.
Speaking outside Westminster at a mass lobby of parliament organised by organised by Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, Nash said: “Transphobia is not feminism. Trans-inclusive feminism is the only path forward and we mustn’t let these fringe views become the mainstream.
“Trans people need protection, rights and healthcare from the UK government. Trans people are not a threat but are people living their lives like you and me.”
“Think about how we treated gay people in the ’80s and how much of a shameful mistake that was, she told Sky News. “We don’t want to make the same mistakes again. Transphobia is not cool.”
Nadia Whittome
Queer Labour MP Nadia Whittome has represented Nottingham East since 2019, when she was elected at the age of just 23, and has advocated on a wide-range of LGBTQ+ issues.
Over the years, this has included advocating for the rights of LGBTQ+ refugees and slamming the queerphobic asylum system, affirming that trans women are women, speaking out against the widely-criticised Cass Review and calling out her own party’s views on trans rights.
In July 2025, criticised Labour to The Independent, saying: “At the current rate the government is going, our legacy will be continuing the rollbacks of trans rights that began with the Conservatives.”
“If we’re continuing to marginalise and scapegoat trans people, especially trans women, as a threat to other women, that means we’re not focusing on the real problem – men who are violent,” she explained.
“The number of male violence offences of stalking, harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence have grown by 37 per cent in the past five years.
“Trans people, particularly trans women, are far, far more likely to be victims.”
Caroline Litman
Caroline Litman’s daughter, Alice, tragically took her own life age just 20 in 2022, after a long wait for access to gender-affirming care.
In the wake of her daughter’s death, Litman wrote the moving memoir Her Name is Alice and campaigns on behalf of the trans community, with herself and her family awarded an Attitude Pride Award in 2024 for their work.
Litman also uses her platform to debunk commonplace myths about trans folks, educating those who may be purposefully – or unintentionally – transphobic.
“When Alice was born, she was given a boy’s name and treated with all the expectations of that gender, but when she died, she died as my daughter – and will forever be remembered that way,” Litman wrote of Alice in Vogue Magazine in 2025.
Suicide is preventable. Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact the Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org), or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.
Nicola Coughlan
Derry Girls and Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan, dubbed a modern-day gay icon, showed actions are stronger than words when it comes to fighting for trans people when she helped raise more than £120,000 for Not A Phase in the wake of the UK’s Supreme Court ruling.
The star has also denounced the “hypothesised, made-up thing about trans women attacking women in bathrooms” and called the implications of the ruling on same-sex spaces “ridiculous because it is not something that is happening”.
“It really upset me to see people celebrating people’s rights being taken away, and I think there is something really wrong with that,” she added.
She has also called on supporters of the LGBTQ+ community to show “true allyship” to trans and non-binary people: “It’s all fun to go to Pride, wave a flag, and watch Drag Race, but are you going to be there when it is awkward and uncomfortable?
“Sometimes, you’ll be mega-attacked online, but you have to ask, ‘Do I care about that or do I care more about the people who are suffering?’, and weigh it up.”
Gabrielle Union-Wade
American actress Gabrielle Union-Wade and her husband, basketball legend Dwyane Wade, are both vocal supporters of Wade’s daughter Zaya, who came out as transgender publicly in 2020.
This has included giving heart-felt speeches, supporting her legal transition and stanning her on the fashion runway.
In April 2023 the couple announced they moved from Florida to California over concerns of Zaya “not being accepted” in the state, which is governed by anti-trans, anti-woke Republican Ron DeSantis who has overseen its controversial Don’t Say Gay law and its subsequent expansions.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Union-Wade advised parents on how to support their trans kids: “As long as you lead with love and that your child knows that you will be there no matter what, and [that] we can figure this out together and that I’m gonna make mistakes but please correct me … so I can learn to not make the same mistakes more than once.
“As long as you start with, ‘My child is not disposable,’ [you] kinda can’t go wrong after that.”
The NION team
Not in Our Name is an organisation made-up of cis women who support and advocate for the rights of the trans community, and “reject the weaponisation of our identities to justify discrimination”.
A petition created by the group, where cis women sign their names in support of trans people, has attracted nearly 90,000 signatures.
In February, the group launched a campaign of love letters written by cis people to members of the trans community, to show they are loved and valued.
“Too many trans people carry the weight of constant scrutiny, exclusion, and hatred,” NION wrote in a statement. “They read headlines that question their right to exist. They navigate systems that deny them dignity. They wonder if anyone truly sees them as human. We do. And we want them to know it.”
Originally beginning on Valentine’s Day, the campaign runs until Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) on 31 March.
Georgia Tennant
Actress Georgia Tennant, married to Doctor Who fan-favourite David Tennant, is well known for her staunch allyship and is a vocal ally for the transgender community.
Over the years, she has spoken up when the community has been targeted by politicians and policy-makers, including after the UK’s Supreme Court decision in April to exclude trans women from the legal definition of a woman.
In 2023, in the wake of vile comments made by then-Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak, Tennant pledged to always support trans folks: “To the trans community, I stand with you now and always. I, like you, am going nowhere.”
Aby Hawker
PR expert Aby Hawker, who has more than 20 years experience in the industry, is the founder and CEO of TransMissionPR, a PR firm that specialises comms for organisations committed to supporting trans and non-binary people.
Writing for PinkNews in 2023, Hawker set out how she began working in this area of comms after Dr Helen Webberley approached her about a new venture, which would go on to become GenderGP.
“At its most fundamental level, allyship involves showing enough interest to gain a basic understanding of what is and what isn’t true, as well as what the intention is behind a particular narrative which is directly targeted at this minority group,” she wrote of being a cis woman supporting the community.
“Without this basic level of understanding, there is no reason to push back when misinformation and disinformation is pumped out. The result is that the problematic content just sits unchallenged as fact, when in reality it is anything but.”
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, whose mega hit pop-bop “Murder on the Dancefloor” shot back up the charts two decades after release because of its appearance in Saltburn, has been speaking out in support of the trans community for many years.
The gay icon said back in 2022, she said it was “a bit of a no-brainer” for her to be a trans ally.
“I’m quite baffled by some of the views that are thrown at the trans community. They don’t resonate with me, I don’t understand them,” she said.
“You only have to speak to someone who’s been through that experience of feeling like they were in the wrong body, and when they’re allowed to actually come into the place where they thought they should be all along, that’s incredible and brilliant and brave, and there should be nothing but support.”
Ellis-Bextor continued: “I actually just completely do not understand the point of view that people feel threatened by trans people or are unnerved, or that women’s roles are being questioned. I just don’t see it that way at all.”
JADE
A vocal supporter of the whole LGBTQ+ community since her days with girlband Little Mix, the “Angel of My Dreams” singer has previously credited the success of her career to queer fans.
Speaking to Stylist Magazine in 2025, JADE said she “can’t sit back and not be vocal about defending” the trans community, stating: “I’m happy to pay the consequences if it means doing the right thing.”
“I do pipe up a lot if I don’t think something’s right or if I see someone that needs an ally in any form, not just with the community, but in any sense. I think I’ve always been the type to pipe up if something doesn’t feel right,” she said in a different interview, saying her Yemen-Egyptian heritage inspires her speak out against injustice.
“I think when you’ve grown up a minority as well, you understand that feeling, whether that’s being a misfit or being othered, you understand what that feels like and you don’t wish that on other people.
“So whether that is to do with my gay fans or the trans community or whatever it is, I think it’s kind of instilled [in] me to be that kind of person.”
