Mumsnet will always stand in solidarity with vulnerable or oppressed minorities.
Mumsnet is also committed to allowing free and open discussion of difficult subjects in order to promote understanding and compromise. Sometimes these two principles come into conflict, rarely more so than in the recent debate about what it is acceptable to say, or not to say, about trans people, and changing opinions about gender and sex. Some have criticised Mumsnet for allowing posts that some trans people find offensive, even hateful. Others have complained that we have “censored” comments which broke no laws and deserved to be heard. To try to create a more civil and mutually respectful conversation, we are spelling out a few principles for how discussions about trans issues will be moderated on Mumsnet.
We believe in free speech and civil debate. So we will, for instance, allow people to discuss biology and scientific evidence.
We don’t allow posts which are derogatory or aggressive towards trans people. We believe there are ways to express both opinion and facts without crossing this line.
Sweeping negative generalisations about any group, including trans people and gender-critical feminists, won’t be tolerated.
Free speech by definition applies to all; for a debate to take place, opposing views which follow our Talk guidelines need to be tolerated, even if you disagree with them.
We won’t allow aggressive or rude behaviour towards our moderation team.
If you cannot accept the above principles and persistently ignore them, then I’m afraid you need to accept that Mumsnet isn’t the right place for you.
We absolutely understand that some users will want complete clarity on what merits deletion – and we must admit, given the enormous resource that goes into moderating these discussions, it’s tempting to try to come up with a definitive list of banned terms. But in our experience, hard and fast rules simply spur the determined on to circumvent their spirit – and what we’re trying to do here is create a more civilised and constructive discussion, rather than operating a tick box on language.
We do not want Mumsnet to be a place that feels inherently hostile to any group, be that trans people, gender-critical feminists or anyone else (except perhaps trolls). If you can abide by our rules – the spirit and not just the letter – we want you to feel you can be a part of the community.
We hope that you will understand where we’re coming from on this. Mumsnet has thrived on being a place where people can find intelligent and differing opinions and enter into civilised discussion.
Justine Roberts - CEO and Founder
3 June 2025