SNP First Minister John Swinney has been criticised for his response to a question on gender, with opposition politicians saying it was "confusing".
He was accused of "standing in the middle of the road" by the Alba party, while women's groups accused him of failing to safeguard women and girls.
The new First Minister took over from Humza Yousaf earlier this month.
Asked by BBC Scotland what a woman is, Swinney responded: "I believe a woman is an adult female born as a woman and I also accept that transgender women are defined as women."
SNP First Minister John Swinney has been criticised for his response to a quesdtion on gender, with opposition politicians saying it was "confusing"
PA
At another point in the interview, when discussing Scotland's plan for a ban on conversion therapy, the new First Minister said: "I want to do nothing that threatens the safety of women and girls, and I will do nothing to threaten the safety of women and girls."
But hitting out at his remarks, Scottish Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton said: "And so it continues….with a confusing response from John Swinney, who correctly says a woman is born female but fails to acknowledge that a trans [woman] is born male and whose gender identity is female."
She added: "Biological sex and gender are not the same."
Meghan Gallacher, deputy leader of the Scottish Tories, added: "John Swinney on BBC Radio Scotland this morning stating that he would not do anything that would threaten the safety of women and girls.
"He already has. He voted for [the Gender Recognition Reform Bill] and sat on his hands as a backbencher when the Cass Review was published."
Writing on social media, the Scottish Feminist Network said: "All that fuss and nothing ever really changes. The new First Minister believes there are 2 routes to womanhood (just like the last 2 FMs): biological and fantasy.
"We know what happened to the last 2 [First Ministers], so brace yourself, John."
The SNP has faced controversy for its approach towards trans issues after introducing the Gender Recognition Reform Act, which would have allowed people to legally self-identify their gender without medical evidence.
While trans groups believe the legislation is an important step for trans acceptance, the legislation was vetoed by the UK Government over concerns it would impact on UK wide equality laws.
For Women Scotland said the remarks were "silly", while former Scottish Labour MSP Hugh Henry joked: "Well that’s really helpful clarification".
Meanwhile, Chris McEleny, the general secretary of the Alba Party, accused Swinney of sitting on the fence.
He said: "John Swinney has decided to stand in the middle of the road when it comes to answering what is a woman.
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"He says a woman is an adult female born as a woman but also that transgender women are women.
"Seemingly, according to John, transgender women that are male are female."