Transitioning man in the womens open changing room and communal showers at local swimming pool

@WomaninBoots , @Woman2023 - I absolutely agree that male = man = however they identify. I was just concerned that if the OP goes in with incorrect terminology, it could murky the waters by adding to the tension.

Seconded

I'm following closely because I also swim in the early mornings and have wondered what I / the pool / other swimmers would do in this situation.

Best of luck OP

And if you don't want to go directly to the police, there are other options:

https://www.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/advice/rape-sexual-assault-and-other-sexual-offences/rape-sexual-assault-support/

If he insists that he cannot use the men's changing rooms, but also refuses to use the family/single person room, then that is proof positive that he is a predator - a male demanding to have access to a facility designated for females only to change and shower.

Either he identifies as a man - in which case he obviously uses the men's facilities - or he identifies as a transwoman, which he may well cite as 'proof' of discrimination, if he is told not to use the women's facilities. If he identifies as a transwoman, then that is an acknowledgement that he has a male body, hence the unwillingness of females to have him in their facilities. The clue is in the 'trans' part that a transwoman is not the same as a woman, otherwise there would be no need for two different words. And if he claims that he doesn't identify as trans, then he is thus acknowledging that he cannot be discriminated against for being something that he is admittedly not.

You can report it online. Ways to do so at the bottom of this article:

https://www.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/advice/rape-sexual-assault-and-other-sexual-offences/voyeurism-upskirting/

https://www.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/advice/rape-sexual-assault-and-other-sexual-offences/what-are-rape-sexual-assault/

In fact, why has nobody suggested the police?

If you feel up to it, OP, you can make a report of voyeurism or indecent exposure.

This is legalised indecent exposure and it's wrong.

How do you know he was undergoing re-assignment? Most men don't have any surgery at all.

And even if he IS undergoing re-assignment, he can only re-assign himself biologically from a (presumably) bodily intact standard male to a male with an adapted body - both of which use the male facilities.

Female changing rooms are for biological females only, which is not something that he will ever have the capability to re-assign to, so it will never be appropriate for him to use them.

@mummymeister I'm not surprised you reacted the way you did. You weren't expecting it. And in the moment of freeze flight or fight, you went for the safest option. Freeze. But, next time you will be prepared.

I think you should be contacting the pool now. You can explain to them why you did not raise it at the time (shock/surprise), if they ask.

He committed the sexual offence of voyeurism against all those of you who were undressed: of course you were vulnerable and in shock, and didn’t know how to react in the moment. Please don’t blame yourself for being an unprepared victim of this man’s assault - although we always do tend to blame ourselves as a defence mechanism - you know rationally that ALL the blame lies with him, and there is nothing you could have said or done that would have prevented him from doing what he did.

The crime is that this kind of man is being enabled by society to inflict this on any or all of us, potentially.

Im glad you’re going to stand up to this bullying predator (whatever his intentions, a male person who deliberately inserts himself in a space where he knows female people will be unclothed qualifies for the term predator, in my book), and I wish you good luck on Friday. I hope the staff understand he has no right at all to be in there and make that clear to him, if he comes back. You know we’re cheering you on from here!

You have the right to a single sex space, as laid out in the EA. Women are NOT obliged to accept a male in a space where they are dressing or undressing.

Please do NOT let this stop you from swimming or exercise. It's outrageous.

This! Bloody hell, the nerve of the man. Entitled, arrogant arsehole.

Don't feel bad that you didn't challenge him immediately, OP. The simple shock and our "be polite and kind" social programming means that most of us would have basically the same reaction. This is what these men rely on.

You'll not be shocked next time. But I think it is worth not waiting until next time and raising merry hell with the pool now. If you get any crap about why you didn't say anything "at the time" then you say, truthfully, that you were shocked and confused and did not feel safe doing so.

OP please raise a stink for any girls who'll use that space, they are rarely confident enough to speak up. If he gets away with it this time, what's to stop him going there when teenage girls are using it without parents present.

Remember the old fashioned flashers? These days all they have to do is say the magic words 'I feel like a woman' and they can go and flash in the swimming changing rooms.

Look don't heap judgement on yourself for this.

We are surrounded by people using shame and attack and smears to produce exactly this effect. The constant drone of 'be kind' in the background has been very effective in silencing women, so that we are now at the point where - look! - a bloke walks into a room full of naked women and the women fucking worry they might be 'doing the wrong thing' by challenging him! Absurdity!

But it's sanctioned by the NHS, the government, the education system, the media and myriad celebrities. It takes nerves of steel to go against the dominant orthodoxy, not to mention the genuine risks presented by challenging a male when in a vulnerable state.

It's not you. You've done nothing wrong.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12041657/Woman-fled-station-toilet-panic-catching-Russian-banker-staring-cubicle.html

This guy is getting prosecuted for voyeurism. How is it any different to the swimming pool man?

You must stick up for your privacy OP. I have a trans family member and I can assure you they only use private facilities to protect everyone's decency. This person had a choice and was pushing their agenda on others. This isn't trying on trousers in Marks and Spencer, it was trying to engage with natal females undressed. I agree with @ArabeIIaScott I think they committed an offence due to the objections from the female facility users. I would tell the staff if it happens again you are calling the police.

Please do raise hell about this, go to your local newspaper if necessary. He needs to be banned from the swimming facility at the very least.

OP have you talked to the other women? Do you know them?

The OP said it was very obviously a man.

I was in a charity shop the other day and a bearded transwoman was trying stuff on coming out the small cubicle and trying to engage the female staff in conversation about the outfit - a tight fitting short dress - and 'pantyhose'. It was not my place to say anything and I was thinking live and let live but it did occur to me that I had never seen a woman do that in a charity shop and never heard many in this country refer to 'pantyhose'. I guess 'tights' sound duller.

No idea what the staff thought, nor if this anecdote adds much to the conversation but it was my first experience of this sort of thing so thought I would jot it down here, my impression was of someone attention seeking and pushing boundaries in a passive aggressive manner.

How do you know he was undergoing re-assignment? Most men don't have any surgery at all.