Glamour magazine cover with Transgender female
Executive summary
Glamour UK’s 2025 Women of the Year cover unites nine trans women under the banner “Protect the Dolls,” spotlighting figures from fashion, activism, music and media and framing the issue as a response to rising anti‑trans pressure in the U.K. while prompting intense cultural backlash from high‑profile critics and right‑leaning outlets [1] [2] [3].
1. What Glamour put on the cover and why
Glamour’s cover features nine trans and gender‑diverse figures — Munroe Bergdorf, Shon Faye, Bel Priestley, Munya, Ceval Omar, Taira, Maxine Heron, Dani St James and Mya Mehmi — photographed together wearing “Protect the Dolls” T‑shirts as part of the magazine’s Women of the Year package meant to amplify trans voices amid what the editors call an increasingly hostile environment for trans rights in the U.K. [1] [2].
2. The magazine’s stated intent and the honourees’ message
In its feature, Glamour frames the selection as honouring “ground‑breaking” trans and non‑binary voices and uses the cover and interviews to argue for visibility, safety and access to employment, housing and healthcare for trans people; honourees like Bergdorf emphasize protection against what they describe as the demonisation and exclusion of trans women [1] [2].
3. Support and celebration from LGBTQ+ outlets and allies
LGBTQ+ and progressive outlets responded largely positively: PinkNews, Attitude and Scene described the cover as celebratory and necessary recognition of activists and cultural figures at a time of legal and political pressure, noting both the personal achievements of those named and the campaign’s rallying cry for trans visibility [4] [5] [2].
4. The backlash: who objected and why
The decision provoked vocal criticism from public figures and conservative media: J.K. Rowling called the cover a message that “men are better women,” posts about it spread widely on X, and commentators including Piers Morgan and Megyn Kelly framed the move as erasing cisgender women — criticism amplified by outlets such as Fox News, the Daily Mail and other conservative platforms that portrayed the selection as provocative and politically charged [3] [6] [7] [8].
5. Cultural and legal context feeding the controversy
Reporting on the story connects the cover to broader legal and cultural debates: commentators note recent U.K. legal decisions and policy reviews affecting gender‑affirming care and single‑sex spaces, and some outlets argue magazines have commercial incentives to exploit such debates for attention; others see the features as a defense of marginalised people under threat [9] [6] [2].
6. How different outlets frame the story and possible agendas
Coverage diverges sharply along editorial lines: Glamour, PinkNews and LGBTQ+ outlets emphasise protection, representation and the lived experiences of the honourees [1] [4], while conservative outlets and commentators use the same facts to argue cultural displacement or to mobilise audiences against what they label “woke” media — a framing that aligns with broader political narratives about gender and women’s spaces [3] [7] [8]. Assessing impact requires reading these frames as both reportage and political positioning.
7. Precedent and continuity in Glamour’s choices
This is not the first time Glamour has honoured trans women: earlier issues have included trans honourees such as Geena Rocero in 2023, an editor‑noted decision that likewise produced debate and highlighted Glamour’s ongoing editorial choice to include trans figures among its women‑of‑the‑year recognitions [10] [11].
8. What reporting does not settle
Available reporting documents who is on the cover, the magazine’s stated reasons and the public reaction; it does not, however, settle philosophical disputes about definitions of womanhood or resolve competing claims about social impact — those remain normative debates outside the strictly factual record presented by the cited coverage [1] [9] [3].