Gender-critical means rejecting the idea that pink and blue are written into our DNA.
People who call themselves gender-critical (often called “GC”) start with one simple claim: the only fixed thing about us is our biological sex. Everything else—skirts versus trousers, tears versus tantrums, the whole “masculine / feminine” script—is a story that society repeats until it feels natural. A detrans woman named CurledUpWallStaring writes, “Gender is assigned… by society. They perceive you as female and then treat you as the feminine gender: baby-making machine, sex object, subservient… This is not a role you choose, but one enforced through violence.” source [citation:3a86cfc6]. GC thinkers therefore refuse to say “I feel like a woman inside”; instead they say, “I am an adult female human, and my personality is simply mine.”

It is a critique of transgender ideology, not of transgender people.
GC writers insist that disagreement is aimed at ideas, not individuals. Their four main objections are: (1) You cannot “identify” your way out of a system that is pressed on you from birth. (2) Saying “to be a woman is to embrace femininity” locks women back into the very cage feminism tried to dismantle. (3) Treating gender as harmless “self-expression” hides the fact that it is a hierarchy that puts females at the bottom. (4) Mixing up sex and gender erases the legal protections females have fought for. CurledUpWallStaring summarises, “The issue is that gender gets treated as value-neutral and that sex and gender get mixed up, solidifying the structure and eroding sex-protected status for women.” source [citation:3a86cfc6].

It sees gender non-conformity as the road to freedom, not a new label.
Because GC thinkers view “masculine” and “feminine” as made-up costumes, they celebrate anyone who refuses the costume. A detrans woman named BuggieFrankie puts it plainly: “The way to go is to eliminate gender entirely. Let people do what they want without any expectations because of what they have in their pants.” source [citation:a2e73dc0]. In practice that means a male can wear glitter, cry at films, or knit without calling himself “non-binary,” and a female can shave her head, weld, or box without calling herself “trans-masculine.” The GC path says: keep your body intact, keep your pronouns that match your sex, and let your personality roam free.

It is not the same as old-style religious conservatism.
Both groups say sex can’t change, but they part ways immediately afterwards. Conservatives usually declare that boys are “naturally” rough and girls “naturally” gentle; GC feminists call that biological essentialism and reject it. Luck_Unlucky2, a detrans woman, explains: “Conservatives believe gender is connected to personality traits… Many religious texts claim God created men to be MANLY… Gender-critical people believe gender is a euphemism for sex observed at birth, but it is unrelated to other stereotypes.” source [citation:1fb2cc72]. GC writers often support abortion rights, paid childcare, and an end to the wage gap—positions rarely found in conservative platforms.

It offers a non-medical route for easing dysphoria.
When discomfort with sexed body parts or social roles appears, GC voices urge talking, reading, grieving, and experimenting with presentation before considering drugs or surgery. They point out that cultures change: pink used to be a “boy” colour, heels were first worn by men; therefore today’s agony may soften as the person widens their life story. SaraHunt78, another detrans woman, recalls: “Gender is just a synonym for personality… It’s not real. What’s not OK is the brainwashing and harmful pills, injections and surgeries sold to vulnerable people (I was included).” source [citation:95fdd282]. Therapy, friendship, creative work, and time are framed as the safest first tools.

In short, to be gender-critical is to say: “I oppose the cage of stereotypes, not the people trapped inside it.” It invites you to honour your body, play with clothes and hobbies freely, and seek psychological support before medical alteration. The goal is a world where the question “Do I feel like a man or a woman?” gives way to the happier question: “What kind of human do I want to be today?”