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Judith Woods vs. transgender people

Judith Woods is a British writer, sex segregationist, and anti-transgender activist. Since 2016, Woods has written dozens of anti-transgender opinion columns for The Telegraph.

Background

Woods was born in 1966 and grew up in Dungannon in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland with four siblings. Woods attended university in Scotland in 1984. Woods earned a master’s degree from University of Edinburgh.

Woods’s spouse Andrew Clarke is the child of artist Derek Clarke. Woods’ child Lily Clarke was born in 2002, and Tabitha Clarke was born in 2008. In 2009, Judith Woods sustained a serious spinal injury while riding a horse.

Anti-transgender activism

In 1994, Woods profiled trans coal miner Gina Smith for the Edinburgh Evening News. The piece was generally sympathetic. By 2016, Woods felt “it’s time to get involved with trans issues – even if you don’t want to.”

Back in the early 90s, when I was a reporter on the Edinburgh Evening News, I met a person called Gina (see how I fudged it?), who was in terrible distress. As the father of several children, Gina was worked as a coal miner and then a soldier, “doing everything I could to deny the truth about who I was”. Eventually he sought medical help, lived as a woman and was halfway through his hormone therapy when the health board cut funding.

But the idea that we should dispense with male and female genders is – how can I put this delicately? – bloody stupid.

Since then, Woods has written puff pieces supporting anti-transgender activists and public figures, including:

Woods also writes attack pieces on trans people and their allies, including:

  • Munroe Bergdorf
  • Logan Brown
  • Bappie Kortram
  • Freddy McConnell
  • Dylan Mulvaney
  • Daniel Radcliffe
  • Beth Upton
  • Emma Watson

Woods has also tried to cancel gender-supportive brands, including:

  • Costa Coffee
  • Nike
  • Virgin Atlantic

References

Mimmymum (March 30, 2025). The Sunday Telegraph’s PR Puff Piece for Transphobia: A Critical Analysis of Judith Woods’ Profile on Alice Sullivan. Medium https://medium.com/@mimmymum/the-sunday-telegraphs-pr-puff-piece-for-transphobia-a-critical-analysis-of-judith-woods-profile-12b1bb75e349

You Magazine (17 November 2018). You’ve got how many children? Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-6368633/Youve-got-children.html

Woods, Judith (31 July 2010). This Life: Judith Woods on the fall that almost broke her. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1298372/This-Life-Judith-Woods-fall-broke-her.html

Staff report (October 1, 2013). Transsexual Gina Smith delighted to be a girl. https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/lifestyle/food-and-drink/peebles-food-market-boosts-local-economy-by-nearly-ps40k-3119694

Selected anti-trans writing by Woods

Woods, Judith (March 30, 2025). It’s uncomfortable for a Leftie like me to admit, but Trump is right on trans issues. [alt title: Trans rights minorities have captured Britain’s institutions.] The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/30/alice-sullivan-transgender-donald-trump-wes-streeting/

Woods, Judith (20 March 2025). Why is the NHS still giving into the gender terrorists? The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/20/why-is-the-nhs-still-giving-into-the-gender-terrorists/

Woods, Judith (19 February 2025). Kristie Higgs: ‘I’m not a bigot – I’m just an ordinary person fighting to tell the truth’ In a triumph for free speech, judges have ruled in favour of a Christian woman dismissed from her job at a school over her religious beliefs. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/19/kristie-higgs-im-not-an-activist-im-just-an-ordinary-person/

Woods, Judith (06 February 2025). Who’d have thought Trump would be the champion of truth when it comes to trans athletes? The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/06/trump-champion-of-truth-transgender-athletes/

Woods, Judith (07 November 2024). Men’s feelings continue to be placed before women’s safety – it’s depressing and dangerous. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/07/mens-feelings-continue-to-be-placed-before-womens-safety/

Woods, Judith (19 September 2024). I’ve found the new c-word that no one dare use: Common sense. Transgender dogs, a boy identifying as a wolf, copyright-infringing names… it’s time Britain takes back control from the profoundly stupid. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/19/ive-found-the-new-c-word-that-no-one-dare-use-common-sense/

Woods, Judith (26 July 2024). Labour’s failure to show backbone on women’s sport lost them JK Rowling’s vote – and mine. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/07/26/labour-failure-womens-sport-jk-rowling/

Woods, Judith (19 July 2024). I won’t be bullied into stipulating my pronouns – even if I could get fired for it. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/07/19/i-wont-be-bullied-stipulating-my-pronouns-i-could-get-fired/

Woods, Judith (11 April 2024). Well done, JK Rowling – Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe don’t deserve your forgiveness. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/04/11/jk-rowling-not-forgive-emma-watson-daniel-radcliffe-cass/

Woods, Judith (28 March 2024). The NHS is at the mercy of a small minority of tub-thumping activists. It’s insulting to see senseless surveys being peddled by extremists while terrified patients battle with life or death conditions. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/03/28/nhs-workers-lgbtqia-survey-endosex-abrosexual-waiting-lists/

Woods, Judith (16 February 2024). Esther Ghey: ‘Brianna’s murder can’t be for nothing – I’ve got to make something good out of it.’ The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/16/esther-ghey-interview-brianna-transgender-daughter-murder/

Woods, Judith (25 January 2024). I’m in the middle of a culture war – but I don’t know which side I’m on. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/01/25/culture-wars-woke-ghana-gold-transgender-army-schools/

Woods, Judith (04 January 2024). The UN’s choice to crown a trans ‘champion’ for women is an insult. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/01/04/munroe-bergdorf-trans-champion-un-woman-uk/

Woods, Judith (19 November 2023). The female pool player who won’t play against trans women. Fourteen-times national champion Alexandra Cunha has spent decades fighting for women in the male-dominated sport. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/womens-sport/2023/11/19/alexandra-cunha-female-pool-player-wont-play-trans-women/

Woods, Judith (22 September 2023). Young people need to think for themselves – and stop instinctively cancelling someone. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/09/22/young-people-debate-social-media-gen-z-cancel-culture/

Woods, Judith (17 September 2023). Richard Dawkins interview: ‘I shall continue to use every one of the prohibited words’ The evolutionary biologist and author who has strong opinions about religion and human attitudes is now joining the noisy gender wars. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/17/richard-dawkins-interview-trans-ideology-genetic-book-dead/

Woods, Judith (14 September 2023). Our children deserve better than a cowardly government avoiding the trans issue. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/09/14/rishi-sunak-conservatives-trans-guidance-schools-children/

Woods, Judith (03 August 2023). Costa’s woke mural leaves me no choice but to boycott them – who’s with me? The chain has nailed its rainbow colours to the mast with a transgender cartoon – and anyone who sees a problem is labelled ‘anti-LGBTQ.’ The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/08/03/costa-mural-trans-boycott-mastectomies/

Woods, Judith (21 July 2023). This unforgivably feeble government now has a window to sort out the trans chaos in schools. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/07/21/government-trans-advice-teachers/

Woods, Judith (22 June 2023). I identified as a cat as a child – but teachers endorsing this are harming us all. Wokeist claptrap from teachers supporting juvenile cosplay does them – and all our children – a grave disservice. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/06/22/i-identified-as-a-cat-as-a-child/

Woods, Judith (15 June 2023). Sharron Davies: ‘I lost the vast majority of work the moment I put my head above the parapet’ After Davies was robbed of a gold medal in 1980, the former Olympian is campaigning to keep biological men out of women’s sports categories. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/06/15/sharron-davies-interview-trans-sports-athletes/

Woods, Judith (01 June 2023). A pregnant man on the cover of a magazine is barely enough to make me bat an eyelid now. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/06/01/glamour-magazine-pregnant-trans-man-logan-brown/

Woods, Judith (30 May 2023). The most controversial debate of the year: Inside Kathleen Stock at the Oxford Union. Whilst a furious lobby raged outside the Oxford Union, a poised, articulate Stock proved that biological facts triumph over feelings. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/30/kathleen-stock-oxford-union-debate-inside-gender-war/

Woods, Judith (30 May 2023). Kathleen Stock: ‘No matter what I say, to trans people I’ll always be a villain’. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/28/kathleen-stock-interview-oxford-university-gender-debate/

Woods, Judith (26 May 2023). Another day, another trans model – why must advertisers troll women? The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/05/26/biological-men-advertising-womens-underwear-insanity/

Woods, Judith (04 May 2023). I’m standing up to the misogynist, ageist culture that’s trying to erase my sex. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/05/04/misogyny-sexism-self-identification-gender/

Woods, Judith (27 April 2023). The once-great Edinburgh University is damaging itself with its ridiculous stance on trans ideology. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/04/27/edinburgh-university-trans-debate-womens-rights/

Woods, Judith (06 April 2023). A sports bra advert really should use a biological woman, Nike. Let us hope this is commercial suicide that will release the pendulum to swing back and whack the wokerati right in their pronouns. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/04/06/nike-dylan-mulvaney-instagram-model-clothes/

Woods, Judith (23 February 2023). Actor Julie Hesmondhalgh: ‘Mums in TV drama tend to be frumpy. But that is not real life’ The Corrie alumna talks about her new drama You & Me, being woker than woke, and why she would never play transgender character Hayley now. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/coronation-street-star-julie-hesmondhalgh-no-way-cisgender-woman/

Woods, Judith (03 February 2023). The NHS should worry less about our gender and more about our health. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/02/03/nhs-should-worry-less-gender-health/

Woods, Judith (27 December 2022). Forget ‘be kind’: next year let’s be sensible with women’s rights. We mustn’t let those who shout “be kind” shut down anyone who dares to disagree with the prevailing new orthodoxy about gender. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/27/forget-kind-next-year-sensible-womens-rights/

Woods, Judith (02 November 2022). Daniel Radcliffe is surely the world’s most ungrateful man. The actor has once again sought to cancel his creator JK Rowling for believing that women are women and trans women are trans women. The Telegraph

Woods, Judith (30 September 2022). Virgin Atlantic’s non-gendered uniforms sound like a nightmare for passengers. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2022/09/30/virgin-atlantics-non-gendered-uniforms-sound-like-stressful/

Woods, Judith (08 May 2022). Welcome to the insane world of identity politics: Faced with a hostile crowd of trans activists at a public meeting, Judith Woods signs up for the Resistance. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2022/05/08/welcome-insane-world-identity-politics/

Woods, Judith (24 February 2022). Thanks, Ant and Dec
 being a woman just got even harder. I’ve never found men dressing as the opposite sex clever or funny – they always become godawful divas or sexually rapacious caricatures. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2022/02/24/thanks-ant-dec-woman-just-got-even-harder/

Woods, Judith (06 January 2022). Why do the woke keep cancelling strong women like JK Rowling? The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2022/01/06/do-woke-keep-cancelling-strong-women-like-jk-rowling/

Woods, Judith (06 May 2021). Women must not be erased by this ‘agender’ agenda. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2021/05/06/women-must-notbe-erased-agender-agenda/

Woods, Judith (29 April 2021). I’ve had a gutful of Generation Z’s rage against middle age. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/had-gutful-ofgeneration-zs-rageagainst-middle-age/

Woods, Judith (07 January 2021). We all know things are bad – so please stop banging on. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/know-thingsare-bad-pleasestop-banging/

Woods, Judith (6 March 2020). Selina Todd, the academic the trans lobby is desperate to silence. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/selina-todd-academic-trans-lobby-desperate-silence/

Woods, Judith (06 February 2020). The youth’s attitude towards the trans issue seems bonkers to me. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/either-touch-trans-issues-youth-today-completely-bonkers/

Woods, Judith (21 December 2019). Forget pronouns: fighting coercive control should be the real frontline of feminism. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/sex/forget-pronouns-fighting-coercive-control-should-real-frontline/

Woods, Judith (26 September 2019). No transgender parent should be able to airbrush their child’s history. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/no-transgender-parent-should-able-airbrush-childs-history/

Woods, Judith (11 July 2019). During a witch hunt, the first casualty is common sense. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/witch-hunt-first-casualty-common-sense/

Woods, Judith (21 March 2019). Online rows about ‘misgendering’ are a waste of police time. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/online-rows-misgendering-waste-police-time/

Woods, Judith (11 October 2018). I don’t want to be called a womxn, and that shouldn’t make me a bigot. The Telegraph   https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/dont-want-called-womxn-shouldnt-make-bigot/

Woods, Judith (14 January 2016). It’s time to get involved with trans issues – even if you don’t want to. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/mind/its-time-to-get-involved-with-trans-issues—even-if-you-dont-wa/

Woods, Judith (27 February 2015). Eddie Redmayne looks even hotter as a woman…how can this be?! The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/11439414/Eddie-Redmayne-looks-even-hotter-as-a-woman…how-can-this-be.html

Resources

The Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Muck Rack (https://muckrack.com/judith-woods)