We Did Not Consent

I have played women's hockey for 30 years. I have played in the women's top grade for my state. I now play in the women's 3rd grade social league. I have played socially in mixed teams with consent. Yesterday was the first time I have played against a male person without consent. The inclusion of a young man in the women's competition changed the dynamic of the game and of our own feelings as women, our rights to assume we are participating in a fair and safe competition. It is not just nor fair to include men in women's sport on the basis of an identity claim.

We did not consent to this. We did not consent to the female competition being reorganised by 'identity', we did not consent to the replacement of our sex with a boy or man's feelings about himself. We have no recourse for a formal complaint about discrimination on the basis of our sex. A complaint must be endorsed by the President of the Club. A club, built from a grassroots movement of local players, a club susceptible to financial constraints, will not put their reputation and that of the hundreds of their players at risk to do this. Ironically this club was established decades ago by lesbians who created their own club to participate in a strong and dedicated women's competition. It has grown since then to become a mainstream and popular local club. There is no anti discrimination legislation to support ordinary girls and women in their day to day lives and participation in spaces and sport assumed to be single sex. Womens right to fair, safe and single sex sport is apparently discrimination against men who identify as women. Inappropriate legislation, the risk of physical and reputational harm are all ways to disadvantage and marginalise women. Women face systemic barriers to achieving fairness, equality and justice because of our sex. Men in women's sport is sex discrimination yet we have no recourse in this culture to be supported to argue a sex discrimination case against us. This is my record of systemic failures to support girls and women in society. We did not consent. Thank you for setting up this website so there is a record of these injustices. #SingleSexsports

Lesbians going underground

I am in Victoria. But the community of lesbians is national. We have been having national gatherings since 1989.

We have been challenged by trans in court in Victoria and South Australia. And we have had challenges that have not gone as far as court in NSW, NT and WA.

We had to start going 'underground' ie having a 'private party' and therefore not advertising publicly, in 2002 (would have to check to make sure that date is correct.)

The gatherings are still happening but there is a great deal of paranoia about being 'found out' ! As well as a great deal of anger.

#Australia , #Lesbians #SingleSexSpaces

AGPs here, AGPs there, AGPs everywhere

Thank you for doing this. I live in London. The change rooms at my local lido (outdoor swimming pool) were redone at a cost of millions of pounds. A woman told me there was one trans woman making everyone uncomfortable in the changing rooms, and this was the council's solution, I guess, to all those horrible bigoted women who were uncomfortable with a transwoman gaping at them while they changed. This is one of the poorest boroughs in London.

In May I purchased a dress at H and M which was covered in semen. When I returned it the woman at the checkout knew exactly what it was and what had happened. “But that’s what we have to put up with these days, I guess,” she said.

Last spring for weeks a young man who was taking hormones to grow breasts (I know this because they were wearing only a white bra made out of T-Shirt material and you could see everything. It was obscene and in 45 years I have NEVER seen a woman dressed like that-- they were essentially topless) dressed as a woman, wearing a very short miniskirt flashed me his penis on multiple occasions when I was walking my young son home from school. He would often be sitting on a bench, right when the walled garden near my son’s school as flooded with children. I was always terrified my son would notice. I never told anyone , no police, not even friends— because I’m so terrified of the repercussions of being labelled a bigot.

Thank you again, #London , #UnitedKingdom, #SingleSexSpaces, #ChangeRooms, #