Fiona McAnena

Fiona McAnena 
 Semantic Summary 
 British gender-critical sports policy specialist. Former Fair Play For Women director, now Sex Matters director alongside Maya Forstater and Helen Joyce. Core focus: excluding trans women from women's sports based on biological advantage arguments. Lower public profile than Forstater/Joyce — operates in legal/policy spaces. Connected to Sex Matters network (JK Rowling funding, LGB Alliance, For Women Scotland). Represents the sports-policy specialisation within the UK gender-critical movement. 
 Overview 
 
 Full Name: Fiona McAnena 
 Role: Director at Sex Matters; former director at Fair Play For Women 
 Nationality: British 
 Known For: Legal advocacy for single-sex sports policies; media appearances on trans participation in women's sport 
 
 Background 
 Fiona McAnena is a gender-critical campaigner who works on legal and policy advocacy around trans inclusion in women's sport. She previously served as a director at Fair Play For Women, one of the early UK gender-critical organisations focused specifically on excluding trans women from women's sport. She later moved to Sex Matters as a director alongside Maya Forstater, Helen Joyce, and Helen Staniland. 
 Timeline 
 
 2018–2022: Director at Fair Play For Women — focused on sports policy and trans exclusion from women's competition 
 2024: Joined Sex Matters as director (announced Feb 2024: "Sex Matters welcomes two new team members") 
 2025–2026: Active in Sex Matters' campaigns on single-sex spaces, sports policy, and Conversion Practices Bill opposition 
 
 Ideology & Positions 
 
 Primary focus: trans women should be excluded from women's sports 
 Argument: biological advantages of male puberty are not fully mitigated by hormone therapy; fairness in women's sport requires sex-based categories 
 Broader gender-critical positions aligned with Sex Matters: opposition to self-ID, GRA reform, conversion therapy bans 
 
 Funding & Affiliations 
 
 Sex Matters — director 
 Fair Play For Women — former director 
 Part of the interconnected UK gender-critical network alongside Sex Matters, LGB Alliance, For Women Scotland 
 
 Online Presence & Reach 
 
 Lower public profile than Maya Forstater or Helen Joyce — operates more in policy/legal spaces than as a public-facing spokesperson 
 Media appearances focused on sports policy debates 
 Cited in Sex Matters press releases and legal submissions 
 
 Sources 
 
 Sex Matters — "Sex Matters welcomes two new team members" (Feb 2024) 
 Yahoo News — "Who are Sex Matters?" 
 Spiked — "How TERF Island took on the trans juggernaut" (Aug 2025) 
 Fair Play For Women website (archived)