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Gay Men’s Network vs. transgender people

Gay Men’s Network is a British anti-transgender group “defending gay rights from the predations of gender ideology.” They consider affirmative models of care for transgender people, especially young people, to be anti-gay conversion therapy.

Background

Gay Men’s Network created a Twitter account in December 2021 and was incorporated in February 2022.

Anti-trans activism

In December 2021, Gay Men’s Network published “Banning Conversion Therapy: Gay men respond to the UK government consultation.” While the document supports banning conversion therapy that attempts to change sexual orientation, they do not want the same laws to apply to conversion therapy that targets trans and gender diverse people:

“There are serious difficulties with a policy based on this concept and we believe it to be dangerous. Gender Identity is not a stable concept nor is it uniformly defined. Stonewall, for example, takes the view that a part time cross-dressing person has a “trans” gender identity and accordingly membership of that group and the protections it affords. More problematically so far as precision in law is concerned, a constantly growing variety of
novel “gender identities” are now said to exist, of which asexual, demi, grey, genderfluid, genderqueer, non-binary are the most commonly known12. One thing unites this multiplicity of new identities: they all rely on regressive sexist stereotypes, where ‘feeling like a man or woman’ is defined as taking part in or enjoying stereotypical gendered activities, clothing, interests etc.

Any legislation based on “gender identity” would be open to abuse, unworkable and would yield results that would bring the law into disrepute. For example, were an academic to make precisely the point above regarding one or more of these gender identities and frame an argument to the effect that it was regressive and to be deprecated, under the proposed legislation a prosecution could potentially lie for “conversion therapy” on the basis of an intention to change the gender identity of the viewer.”

During Pride Month 2024, Kavanagh stated, “If one must take pride in anything during Pride Month, I prefer to find it in the spirited and steadfast work of women and gay people in the UK who, against all the odds, have taken on gender ideology and its champions within the gay movement. Organisations like LGB Alliance and the Gay Men’s Network, which I direct, have done sterling work in defending gay rights from the predations of gender ideology.”

In 2026, Amnesty International UK published reports on the anti-rights movement in the United Kingdom, listing Gay Men’s Network in the “gender critical” category. The three officers sent a letter of complaint about being included.

People

Selected writing by Gay Men’s Network

Hayward, Jonathan, Mamdani, Hassan; Kavanagh, Dennis (July 11, 2026). Complaint to Amnesty International UK. https://x.com/MensNetwork1/status/2075951440028205454

Hayward, Jonathan (May 5, 2022). [to Welsh Parliament/Sennedd] Public statements regarding a proposed “Conversion Therapy” ban https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6200252604e9795287de2ada/t/62740bb0e1880929df817d26/1651772337216/GMN_FMWales_CTLetter.pdf [archive]

[uncredited] (December 2021). Banning Conversion Therapy: Gay men respond to the UK government consultation. Gay Men’s Network PDF via Sex Matters https://sex-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GayMensNetwork_ConversionTherapy_ConsultationResponse.pdf original url https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6200252604e9795287de2ada/t/621ff167d49b731100b1b248/1646260583939/Gay%2BMen%2BUK%2BConsultation%2BResponse%2BBranded%2B9.pdf [archive]

Media

GBNews with Andrew Doyle and Dennis Kavanagh (February 20, 2022). ‘Gender identity ideology is seductive but dangerous’, says Dennis Kavanagh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5MDAVw2osE

Gay Men’s Network with Jonathan Hayward, Hassan Mamdani, and Fred Sargeant (June 28, 2022). Fred Sargeant talks with GMN. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zq4phYvoNE.

Resources

Gay Men’s Network (gaymensnetwork.com) [archive]

X/Twitter (x.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

UK Companies House (find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk)