Society openly opposes the university’s “obsession with gender ideology”
Three Cambridge University students have launched a society to oppose a university culture they claim is “obsessed with gender ideology”.
A newly formed group, Cambridge University Society of Women (CUSW)launched last month and bills itself as “Encouraging women to speak freely from 2025.”
With the exception of transwomen, the society has since been referred to as “TERFs” by other members of the community, who call its creation “an embarrassment”.
Founding members Serena Worley, Maeve Halligan and Thea Sewellsay the society came about because of what they see as the dominance of transgender issues in Cambridge student culture.
Maeve has been quoted as saying that “university culture is obsessed with gender ideology,” referring to pronoun tags, rainbow flags, and a “constant stream of gender-related material.”
In their opening statement, the founders wrote: “As the only openly and proudly single-sex women’s society at university, our mission is to help women speak freely in an all-female environment. We campaign and raise funds to help women’s gender-based causes.”
CUSW tries to register from the university itself through the Proctors’ Office.
Serenawho previously studied journalism at the University of Oregon, described the experience of rooming with a trans woman that “changed her understanding” of trans politics and led her to help start a new society.
Thea told the outlet that after showing a friend her book collection, which included a work by gender-critical academic Kathleen Stock, the friend alerted her to “the biggest trans rights activists at her college,” after which “a TERF scratched at my door.” He says he has since experienced social exclusion.
TThe group’s constitution defines women as “adult human beings belonging to the female gender category” and declares its intention to “challenge the prevailing gender and gender narratives at our university.”
The founders claim that their mission is to preserve female spaces rather than to “oppose trans people” and claim that they need “freedom of association and gender-based discourse.”
CUSWs the emergence has already provoked strong responses in Cambridge. The Cambridge University Labor Club (CULC) called the group “the latest attack on the trans community in Cambridge” and accused it of “promoting transphobic rhetoric under the guise of free speech”.
Other student groups, e.g Gender Agenda – Cambridge Feminist Collectivereleased statements affirming that “trans women are women” and rejecting the new society’s definition of womanhood. One statement read, “Feminism without intersectionality is not effective, thoughtful, or productive.”
Numerous communities also issued a joint statement in support of the trans community after its inception.
Comments on the associations’ Instagram posts read: “A safe space for women should always include trans women” and “Spreading hate speech against already marginalized groups of people is unacceptable. This is disgusting.”
One comment in support of the club read: “Very proud of you all. Many women are with you.”
The launch of CUSW fits with ongoing debates in Cambridge about single-sex spaces and transintegration. Earlier this year Newnham College confirmed that it will accept all applicants who identify as female, despite some calls to restrict admission based on biological sex.
Cambridge SU, the students’ union, has also taken public views on gender and gender politics. By following The decision of the Supreme Court Defining “woman” in biological terms under the Equality Act 2010, the SU declared that “the identities of trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people are valid regardless of the court’s decision”.
Despite the backlash, the club told how it had already received “more than 20 student membership applications” and more than 60 “alumni applications”.
Maeve told GB News: “We’re bringing support and we can do what we really want to do, which is get young women back on track in this country.”
Co-founder Worley said University that while CUSW plans a variety of events open to all genders, “in principle” trans women would not be eligible for membership.
The University of Cambridge, Cambridge SU and CUSW were contacted for comment.
Featured image on Instagram @cusocietyofwomen