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TERF Island: How the UK Resisted Trans Ideology
The United Kingdom has been labelled TERF Island - sometimes affectionately and sometimes contemptuously - for its successful resistance to transgender ideology.
This is the story of some of the brave and determined women who led the charge against trans activist demands which would have undermined women’s rights and jeopardised the physical and mental health of children. They dragged shadowy campaigns into the daylight, exposing the harm that would result, forcing policy change, setting legal precedents and changing public opinion.
Fiona McAnena has been part of this story almost from the beginning, and her unique insight and personal involvement brings to life the intimate human stories behind the movement to Keep Britain Terfy. This extraordinary, inspiring, furious and sometimes funny account shows how a few women acting on their convictions turned back a tide which threatened to sweep away the rights their foremothers fought for.
This is the story of some of the brave and determined women who led the charge against trans activist demands which would have undermined women’s rights and jeopardised the physical and mental health of children. They dragged shadowy campaigns into the daylight, exposing the harm that would result, forcing policy change, setting legal precedents and changing public opinion.
Fiona McAnena has been part of this story almost from the beginning, and her unique insight and personal involvement brings to life the intimate human stories behind the movement to Keep Britain Terfy. This extraordinary, inspiring, furious and sometimes funny account shows how a few women acting on their convictions turned back a tide which threatened to sweep away the rights their foremothers fought for.
- GenresNonfictionPoliticsGender
300 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2025
10 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 3, 2025
This book, its author, and anyone who has read it and agreed with its conclusions fundamentally misunderstand feminism. You, Fiona McAnena, are no feminist. You are a foul bigot who doesn’t grasp the truth that to enact true positive change in the world, one must punch up, not down. Hatred is still hatred, even if you attach an acronym to it and proclaim the label to be brave. You are no better than the men that have been belittling and abusing women for centuries. You are no better than a dog that rolls around in its own shit, for you both live in rot and see no issue with it. And you are certainly no better than the trans women you hate so viciously.
Shame on anyone who allows this poisonous way of thinking to bleed into their life and actions. Be better.
Shame on anyone who allows this poisonous way of thinking to bleed into their life and actions. Be better.
January 30, 2026
WHAT IN THE ACTUAL F*CK IS THIS CRAP.
🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️
🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️
December 20, 2025
[08 Oct 2025] What a incredible story. This book tells the story of a group of women who protested against the irreversible actions involved in the affirmative care of gender dysphoric children and teenagers and how self-styled transgender women were encroaching on established women's rights. Its describes the lives of several women who tell how their concerns made them feel compelled to stand up, protest and be counted. Remarkable stories of courage, bravery and determination in the face of anger, hostility and personal sacrifice. The most remarkable aspect is the overwhelming contempt they were exposed to and the near across-the-board consensus from the most unlikely places that challenged their beliefs - beliefs that would have been only a few short years ago - a universal truism held by generations of ordinary people.
They come across as passionate group of campaigners and activists, who were able to use their skills in their cause. They described how they mightily suffered because of their standing up to the unprecedented paradigm shift that appeared to capture people whole-scale. The story is well told and an engrossing, absorbing read, which was a bit of a page-turner. There are couple of gripes - they use a lot of acronyms and without a glossary it can get confusing. Also, I was expecting a slightly deeper, perhaps more analytic look at the phenomenon. They touch on social contagion, social approval, misogny and an innate need to campaign in campaign groups who appear to succeed in their previous missions, but in order to 'resist trans Ideology' I was hoping to deepen my understanding of what, why and when trans became an ideology. However, generally a very interesting, informative and important book about a controversial, complex and at times impossible to understand social phenomena of the late twentieth and early twenty first century.
They come across as passionate group of campaigners and activists, who were able to use their skills in their cause. They described how they mightily suffered because of their standing up to the unprecedented paradigm shift that appeared to capture people whole-scale. The story is well told and an engrossing, absorbing read, which was a bit of a page-turner. There are couple of gripes - they use a lot of acronyms and without a glossary it can get confusing. Also, I was expecting a slightly deeper, perhaps more analytic look at the phenomenon. They touch on social contagion, social approval, misogny and an innate need to campaign in campaign groups who appear to succeed in their previous missions, but in order to 'resist trans Ideology' I was hoping to deepen my understanding of what, why and when trans became an ideology. However, generally a very interesting, informative and important book about a controversial, complex and at times impossible to understand social phenomena of the late twentieth and early twenty first century.
August 21, 2025
I read this after The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht. Although the fight for woman’s rights has a different history in the two political spheres, there are many similarities. Both Westminster and Holyrood centred policy decisions around trans rights ignoring the rights of women to protected spaces, misinterpreting the law and creating problems.
This account has been an eye opener.
This account has been an eye opener.
August 6, 2025
Brilliant
An excellent book charting the amazing activism of women trying to protect their rights and fighting back against gender ideology
An excellent book charting the amazing activism of women trying to protect their rights and fighting back against gender ideology
October 20, 2025
A book which is begging for a sequel … thank you Fiona for documenting these brave women’s work and for giving other women the courage to be brave too. (And thank you for all your brave work too.)
September 5, 2025
A really important book, this sets the history out really clearly. A more emotional read than I expected.
October 11, 2025
Fiona McAnena’s Terf Island is not a gentle read, nor should it be. It’s a blistering account of how women’s rights are being dismantled under the guise of “inclusion,” and how institutions—from councils to universities—have abandoned their duty to protect women in favour of appeasing ideological bullies.
The book lands with brutal clarity in light of the 2025 "protests", where trans activist groups vandalised feminist venues, hurled abuse at grieving mothers, and plastered slogans like “die terf scum” across public buildings. These weren’t isolated incidents—they were part of a coordinated campaign to silence women. Councils refused to provide security, media outlets smeared female speakers, and the public was expected to applaud the intimidation as “activism.”
McAnena exposes the ideological rot at the heart of trans activism. Far from dismantling gender norms, it entrenches them. A girl who dislikes dresses is “really a boy.” A boy who cries is “born in the wrong body.” This isn’t liberation—it’s a glitter-drenched revival of rigid, sexist stereotypes. And let’s be clear: that’s no less harmful than homophobia. Both erase people’s realities. Both demand conformity. Both punish those who refuse to lie.
Trans ideology also undermines gay rights. Lesbians are pressured to accept male bodies as “female,” and gay men are shamed for maintaining same-sex boundaries. Sexual orientation is reframed as “genital preference”—a term designed to pathologise gay identity and guilt-trip people into submission.
Terf Island doesn’t ask for sympathy—it demands accountability. McAnena writes with precision and moral courage, refusing to sugar-coat the damage done to women, children, and LGB people in the name of “progress.” This book is for anyone who’s tired of being gaslit, threatened, or erased for stating the obvious: sex matters, and women deserve to speak without fear.
The book lands with brutal clarity in light of the 2025 "protests", where trans activist groups vandalised feminist venues, hurled abuse at grieving mothers, and plastered slogans like “die terf scum” across public buildings. These weren’t isolated incidents—they were part of a coordinated campaign to silence women. Councils refused to provide security, media outlets smeared female speakers, and the public was expected to applaud the intimidation as “activism.”
McAnena exposes the ideological rot at the heart of trans activism. Far from dismantling gender norms, it entrenches them. A girl who dislikes dresses is “really a boy.” A boy who cries is “born in the wrong body.” This isn’t liberation—it’s a glitter-drenched revival of rigid, sexist stereotypes. And let’s be clear: that’s no less harmful than homophobia. Both erase people’s realities. Both demand conformity. Both punish those who refuse to lie.
Trans ideology also undermines gay rights. Lesbians are pressured to accept male bodies as “female,” and gay men are shamed for maintaining same-sex boundaries. Sexual orientation is reframed as “genital preference”—a term designed to pathologise gay identity and guilt-trip people into submission.
Terf Island doesn’t ask for sympathy—it demands accountability. McAnena writes with precision and moral courage, refusing to sugar-coat the damage done to women, children, and LGB people in the name of “progress.” This book is for anyone who’s tired of being gaslit, threatened, or erased for stating the obvious: sex matters, and women deserve to speak without fear.
February 2, 2026
Five stars are only awarded to books that change my thinking. This one changed mine irrevocably.
February 12, 2026
This should be titled, TERF Island: How the UK Spreads Hate.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews