This thesis explores anti-trans narratives as they emerged through opinion pieces in Icelandic national news publications. The increase in the publication of such pieces is simultaneously a result of and a contribution to the ongoing backlash when it comes to discrimination against queer and trans people, queer and trans rights, and human safety at large. Trans people have been hit the hardest in this regard as their rights have been heavily contested, along with their access to trans-related health care and support. In countries such as the United Kingdom, the correlating discussion surrounding trans rights has taken place in the media to a large extent, where issues like gender-affirming care for children and access of trans people to gender-segregated spaces have become large focal points. There were clear commonalities between the discussion on trans rights in the UK and Iceland as the opinion pieces published in Icelandic media used examples from the UK to bolster their arguments. That raised the question of what other commonalities the opinion pieces had, the answer to which was sought through critical discourse analysis. In my analysis, I have explored and mapped out common themes and anti-trans tropes used in Icelandic opinion pieces. 

Results of the analysis indicate that the common tropes and themes of the opinion pieces were accusations of extremism, a delegitimisation of the trans experience, gender essentialism, lesbian and gay rights, protecting children and infringement on women’s rights. The investigation also raised questions that could be explored through further research regarding the transference of opinion between countries. For future research, it would be important to research how resistance to anti-trans discourse takes place and how this persistent anti-trans discourse affects the trans community over time.