hamstead women's pond

I don't feel safe unless I or someone else has posted stickers advertising that this is a single sex service under The Equality Act 2010, and defining "woman" as "adult human female" at the entrance of the women's pond, although these are generally fairly quickly removed. Even then, I don't feel completely safe, but safer.

Recently, while I was in the changing room shower after my swim, I saw through the large window, someone built like - although perhaps not too obviously - a man, get out of the pond. He behaved differently from women who go there - he lifted his arms euphorically, revealing swathes of pubic hair on either side of his costume crotch. He came into the shower, briefly showered under the cold shower without undressing. He noticed me looking uncomfortable in the next shower - my costume down to my waist - waiting for him to go so that I could take off my costume and proceed with my shower.

He could have used the cold shower outdoors - it seems coming into the indoor showers where women are naked was part of the experience he wished to complete. He could have used the mixed pond.

I felt that my safe space and privacy were violated.

#unitedkingdom #hamsteadpond #womenspond #swimming #nudity #privacy

move to have australia's national tertiary union condem gender-critical theory

Not sure that this fits as it doesn't relate to women-only spaces, but does demonstrate an impact on women.

As a member of the NTEU, I am concerned about the current push by trans members and their supporters against people who are gender critical.

An excerpt from an email doing the rounds is as follows:

"'Gender critical’ is a euphemism used to cloak transphobia by those who don’t want trans people to have equal rights. ‘Gender critical’ ideology is fundamentally transphobia; there are no ‘gender critical’ beliefs/ideas that are not transphobic in nature. It is not a legitimate or recognised field of research, though it seeks to masquerade as one. It is important to specifically call out ‘gender critical’ beliefs as this is the term under which transphobia in tertiary spaces organises."

This (and a multitude of comments relating to this matter on social media) totally misrepresent gender critical beliefs and demonise those who hold them, people who are predominantly women. It is setting up conflict when there is no need - trans people can be supported without throwing gender critical people under the bus.

As it is, I don't feel safe to talk about this matter within my uni's NTEU branch. It's pretty clear that dominant members are in favour of making an anti-GC statement to signal solidarity with trans people. I don't know if this will be put to the vote, but even if it is, how do you vote against such statements without immediately being labelled transphobic and a bigot? Such labels will stick and have a major impact within the work place and academic community more broadly.

#australia #NTEU #union #tertiaryunion #nationaltertiaryunion #gendercritical #freespeech

news.com.au reports sexual assault by convicted male pedophile as done by a woman [news]

a convicted male pedophile who spent six years in a german prison for the sexual abuse of a six year-old girl, then sexually assaulted a melbourne woman in february of this year, has been reported by news.com.au using the following obscurantist language:

"Lisa Jones sexually assaulted female stranger she followed in Melbourne" (headline)

"A woman has been thrown behind bars..." (subtitle)

"...another woman grabbed her and told her to "lie down and have sex with me"..." (main article)

"She was jailed for three years..." (main article)

"Jones... followed the other female down Lennox Street..." (main text)

first of all this conflates sex and gender identity: jones may have a woman gender identity, but that doesn't make jones female (doesn't change his sex). second of all, this language refuses to name this attack for what it is: male violence against women.

the rest of the article goes on to tell of jones's "traumatic and harrowing" time spent in a male prison (for the aforementioned sexual assault of a six year-old girl) and gives details of his early transition pathway, as if the reader should be interested in the attempted-rapist and pedophile rather than his female victim. what about her history? what about how traumatic and harrowing it was for her to experience an attempted rape?

#australia #victoria #melbourne #news #transwomen #maleviolence #sexualassault #attemptedrape #mvawg #datacorruption #femaleerasure