In recent years, the debate over gender-affirming care and the rights of transgender individuals has become a lightning rod for controversy on both sides of the globe. The past week alone has seen dramatic developments in both the United Kingdom and Australia, with high-profile figures and governments taking strikingly different stances—leaving trans communities and their allies grappling with the fallout.
In London, singer Róisín Murphy, once celebrated for her embrace of disco and camp aesthetics, found herself at the center of renewed controversy. Murphy, who had long been considered a queer icon (albeit on a smaller scale than some of her contemporaries), has seen her reputation shift dramatically over the past two years. Her journey from beloved ally to pariah has been marked by a series of public statements and actions that have alienated much of her former fanbase, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ community.
Murphy’s earlier years were defined by her playful engagement with gender and drag culture. In a 2019 photoshoot and video for Loverboy Magazine with RuPaul’s Drag Race queen Detox—who herself came out as trans in 2024—Murphy was praised by Detox as “the best drag queen in the world.” During the interview, Murphy expressed joy at her gay following, recalling a concert in Paris: “I was quite happy when I realized I had a big gay following...I walked out onstage and it was just wall-to-wall men, with their tops off, hanging off the ceiling, sweat everywhere, screaming! I just thought, ‘I’ve come home.’” According to Pink News, she also spoke about her affinity for drag, saying, “There’s definitely a connection between me and drag...I’m always in some kind of drag—maybe we all are.”
Yet, even as Murphy celebrated queer culture, she often discussed drag in terms that focused on performance rather than identity. In the same Pink News interview, after describing her fascination with the concept of “realness” from the documentary Paris Is Burning, Murphy did not mention the film’s trans cast or delve into issues of gender identity. Instead, she reflected on her own “pretty cis” identity and creative relationships with men.
It wasn’t until 2023, on the eve of her album Hit Parade’s release, that Murphy’s public image took a sharp turn. On social media, she denigrated puberty blockers and echoed trans-exclusionary rhetoric, writing, “Puberty blockers are fucked, absolutely desolate, big pharma laughing all the way to the bank. Little mixed-up kids are vulnerable and need to be protected, that’s just true,” as reported by The Guardian. She added, “please don’t call me a terf [trans-exclusionary radical feminist], please don’t keep using that word against women.”
The backlash was swift and fierce. Murphy issued an apology, stating, “I am so sorry my comments have been directly hurtful to many of you. You must have felt a huge shock, blindsided by this so abruptly. I understand fixed views are not helpful but I really hope people can understand my concern was out of love for all of us.” However, she notably did not retract her statements about puberty blockers, and instead vowed to “completely bow out of this conversation in the public domain.”
Despite this promise, Murphy returned to the topic in October 2025, posting a graph online that claimed a sharp drop in the number of 18-22-year-olds identifying as trans. She attributed this to the “current political climate,” writing, “It was never real. Terribly sad though. Absolute havoc wreaked on children, families and society.” According to Fox News, the study’s lead author actually suggested the decline was due to fewer people feeling comfortable identifying as trans amid growing hostility.
The consequences for Murphy were immediate: she was dropped as the headliner for Istanbul’s Back in Town music festival. Organizers stated, “We would never be comfortable including her in such a festival set-up.”
Murphy then took her activism offline, joining the 199 Days Later March in London on November 2, 2025. The rally, organized by Grassroots Women and covered by the Daily Mail, marked 199 days since the UK Supreme Court ruled that a person’s legal gender would be defined by their birth sex. The legislation, if enforced, would bar trans people from restrooms and spaces that align with their gender identity. The march’s organizers highlighted “the government’s failure to implement and enforce the April 2025 Supreme Court ruling. Allowing men to continue to access women’s prisons, changing rooms, hospital wards and other female only spaces.” Murphy was spotlighted on social media by the event’s organizers: “Roisin Murphy joined the #199DaysLaterMarch in London to demand the government adhere to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Single Sex Spaces. Wonderful to meet you @roisinmurphy.”
Meanwhile, across the globe in Queensland, Australia, a very different battle over trans rights was playing out. On October 28, 2025, the Queensland Supreme Court overturned the state government’s ban on gender-affirming care—including puberty blockers—for trans teenagers. The court found the ban had been rushed through without proper consultation or input from medical professionals. The judge ruled that the decision to stop children from accessing puberty blockers was made without giving doctors a chance to weigh in, a victory that brought a brief moment of joy to trans youth and their families.
But the celebration was short-lived. Just six hours after the court’s ruling, the Queensland government issued a new ban on gender-affirming care, according to 7am. The mother who took the government to court described the emotional toll the legal fight has taken on her daughter and other trans kids, as the uncertainty and rapid policy reversals have left families in limbo.
For trans children and their families in Queensland, the battle is far from over. The new ban has reignited fears about access to essential healthcare, and the fight for trans rights continues to play out in the courts and public opinion alike. As of November 4, 2025, the impact of these legal and political maneuvers is being felt acutely by those who simply want their children to live safely and authentically.
These parallel stories—one of a fallen icon in the UK, the other of a legal tug-of-war in Australia—highlight the global nature of the debate over gender-affirming care. They reveal the deeply personal stakes involved, as well as the powerful currents of support and opposition shaping the lives of trans people and their families. Whether in the glare of celebrity controversy or the quiet determination of parents fighting for their children, the struggle for trans rights remains a defining issue of our time.
