Throughout "Germ", Nash's commentary explores numerous social issues, including her reaction to transphobic views, her support of trans people, violence and sexual assault against women in the UK, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, abuse, men's mental health and suicide rates, gender roles and toxic masculinity. Nash also included facts and figures to back up her views, including suicide rates and rape statistics. Despite receiving trolling from gender-critical people about the song, "Germ" and Nash received praise from the LGBTQ community for her outright support of the community during a tough time.
Background and composition
Nash initially wrote "Germ" as an essay in mid-2024.[2] However, in April 2025, a Supreme Court ruling determined that the word 'woman' refers only to "biological women".[3] Nash "just reacted" and messaged producer Kool Kojak. The pair turned her essay into a song, with Nash wanting her thoughts on the ruling to be "in music history and in feminist history".[4] A British public figure, Nash deemed it important to speak out against J.K. Rowling,[4] who has become known for views deemed as transphobic.[5] She stated: "at the moment, the loudest cultural voice in the room, who created one of the most successful things ever to come out of the UK, Harry Potter, is transphobic, and is very cruel online and very crass, and it's just become so nasty."[4]
On making "Germ", Nash said: "I want this on record. I want it to exist in music history that a feminist, cis woman was pro-trans and a trans ally and calling out transphobia".
Nash has stated that she does not view the conversations around trans rights as a debate, since she has numerous trans friends and takes transphobic views personally.[6] She added: "a friend of mine was the victim of a hate crime last year. The LGBTQIA+ community supports women so much, and they have been there for me in my life and career. That’s why I think cis women really owe it to trans people to step up at this moment."[7]
Nash long had an interest in spoken word and poetry, as well as feminism and politics. Therefore, she was keen to incorporate it into her work and felt that making a song about her thoughts on feminism would be more impactful than "just reacting on [her] phone".[1] She billed it "the most political thing" she had done in her career at that point.[1] "Germ" is an acronym for "girl, exclusionary, regressive, misogynist", a term coined by Nash as a replacement for a trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF). On the name, she stated: "If you are transphobic therefore you are not a feminist. Welcome to your rebrand GERM."[8]
The lyrical content of "Germ" explores various social themes: her reaction to transphobic views, her support of trans people, violence and sexual assault against women in the UK, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, abuse, men's mental health and suicide rates, gender roles and toxic masculinity.[9] As well as showcasing her feelings on the topics, she also backed up her thoughts with statistics from numerous sources, including Rape Crisis and the End Violence Against Women Coalition.[4] Within the lyrics of the song, she remarks that "women are facing serious dangers", but not from "trans people needing a piss".[2] She hoped that "Germ" would form part of a reshape of British feminism, having felt embarrassed to call herself a feminist after the supreme court ruling. Nash also criticised white feminism and felt that by excluding trans women from feminism, they were repeating history when Black women were historically excluded. She concluded: "we are not, as feminists, saying we're going to take rights away from other people because white feminists deserve the most protection. We've done it before. I feel like I can’t allow this to happen [again]."[2]
Reception
Within hours of the song's release, Nash was trending on X (Twitter). She received praise from LGBTQ+ advocates and allies since she was showing support in a time where "their rights are being eroded".[7] However, gender-critical people suggested that Nash was "enabling abusers" by calling for trans women to be accepted in single-sex spaces, which Nash found "absurd".[7] Nash clarified that she was open to "nuanced conversations" but was shocked to be described as "old, a bint, a slag, a has-been", insults she found to be misogynistic.[7]
PinkNews billed "Germ" a "searing takedown of so-called trans-exclusionary radical feminism, with rage vibrating through every scratchy guitar thrum."[2] Nash spoke with the newspaper about the public reaction to the song. She explained that she had received high volumes of trolling about the song and admitted that a part of her felt fear over it. However, she added: "then I’m getting letters from trans people that are so moving and so powerful about how they felt hearing the song and how grateful they were, and that is a hundred times more powerful than any insult you could throw at me".[2]
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