( NC for obvious reasons )
Glasgow Life are the Council organisation that run sports centres in Glasgow. They have been in the papers about their policy of allowing men into women only facilities
www.heraldscotland.com/news/17588777.cross-dress-males-to-be-allowed-in-women-only-gym-sessions-in-glasgow/?ref=twtrec
I am a member so I went tonight to complaint to the manager at the local centre. He was a young man of around 30.
It took about 5 mins of patient questioning from me for him to admit it was indeed council policy. He kept maintaining that there were no mixed sex or unisex facilities, but eventually he acknowledged it.
So I asked him if I could go right then and use the male changing room, ( I’m an XX person for the avoidance of doubt ).
He told me no, because I wasn’t “going through the process of gender change”. Now the council policy specifically says this is not required, but decided not to argue this further.
I told him that I indentified as agender, which counted as trans. He looked very perplexed by this, and questioned me for another 5 mins, arguing that I wasn’t. Although he agreed that if I was, I could use the Male changing room.
He waxed lyrical about the individual cubicles for showers and changing ( within the Male changing room ). I checked that their was no requirement on me ( since I was identifying as male tonight ) to use these and I could walk around naked in the men’s changing room if I wanted to, and would this be fine.
He said “ We were told in our training that that would never happen, because you would be ashamed of your body”. So I asked if he was suggesting that I should be ashamed of my body.
He knew he was in a hole but he kept on digging.
Then he went for the sympathy vote, pointlessly appealing to my female socialisation . He tilted his head and declared
“ You know it’s hard for people like you and me to understand what it feels like to be trans and how hard it must be. So the council has to allowed them access, it’s the law”.
[ feeble attempt at forced teaming there too ]
I reminded him that I was trans myself and asked which law. He replied “ Well you know more that me as you have read up on it “ .
I asked about their Equality Impact Assessment and the about the effects on other centre users, who didn’t want to share showers and changing areas with a person of the opposite sex. He said “ Well they wouldn’t be the opposite sex would they ? “.
I guessed that was in his training too.
By the end he was losing his temper, so ( perhaps wisely ) said “ I’m not talking to you anymore, you need to speak to someone in legal”.
He went to reception to look up a number and said to his two female colleagues ( who were trying not to snigger ) “ For fucks sake, now she’s telling me she’s trans “.
I said “ I can’t believe you are questioning my gender identity. Please stop saying that, it’s very offensive “.
He threw a paper at me with a number and stormed off.
It was entertaining but rather unsatisfactory. I think I can guess who did their training.
So it’s the Council Legal Services tomorrow, that should be better.
And of course I will complain about being told that I’m not trans. Repeatedly.
I guess the training didn’t cover that bit.