Woman banned from Council gyms...guess why? Protest 10th Jan at 1 pm see post on pg.7

Miranda I’d like to thank you for being so brave. On behave of women like me who

• would not use a changing room where men are allowed in
• are fearful of being near men when in an undressed state
• don’t want to be filmed naked or semi dressed
• consider any man in such situations to be voyeurs at best or perverts, and potential predators at worst

I’m terrified on behalf of my daughters that rules allowing men in restrict their options to use guys or other public facilities. As teenagers I warned them never ever let themselves be filmed by their female friends in a state of undress because I told them I can’t protect them from even one photo. Now apparently it’s ok for a man to be filming in the ladies, it’s outrageous. And a predators heavenly charter. Especially for paedophiles.

Alas, anyone living in Southwark near to The Castle Centre (me) is too far from Lewisham and especially Croydon and Bromley and even much of Lambeth to be able to use council-run gyms there regularly.

I resent that, if we want a nearby gym with a lawful female only changing room policy, we have to go to private and therefore more-expensive-for-what-you-get gyms.

And despite all that, you still blamed the woman.

How should she have behaved towards the man that would have persuaded him to leave the changing room quietly and not called the police? Just so that the rest of us know how to behave properly if, god forbid, we're ever in a similar situation and just want the man to get the hell out of our changing room?

No that’s not what the article says. It says the man called the police, and it says the police came and said there would be no action from them. Ergo the woman had done nothing wrong.

Also a woman has every right to object to a man being in the women’s changing room.

@MirandainSouthwark I'm too far away to attend, but all power to you!

Beforehand, be sure to take instruction from The Righteous on the correct manner to conduct yourself during any mild registration of your disagreement with The Right Side of History. Perhaps keeping your gaze demurely downcast, speaking in a gentle murmur using only the mildest tones and words from the lexicon of permissible non-heated language, hands held open and low, and with a careful balance of detached calm (to display your credibility as a cogitative being who has considered the issue logically) combined with sufficient indications of delicate dismay (to convey your emotional authenticity which will nevertheless be dismissed because you're not of the caste whose emotions are deemed important).

Also, remember that if there is a small number of protesters, this undeniably demonstrates that nobody objects and society supports female humans being compelled to remove their clothing in the presence of male humans, whilst if there's a large number of protesters, this undeniably demonstrates an organised mass bullying fake news campaign and society supports female humans being compelled to remove their clothing in the presence of male humans. The actual definition of small or large numbers is entirely down to The Righteous on a completely fluid basis.

If at any point the police are called, this self-evidently demonstrates that you have failed to adhere to the correct manner of conduct, confirms your condemnation to The Wrong Side of History and furthermore society supports female humans being compelled to remove their clothing in the presence of male humans.

No, I didn't miss any of those things. What's your point?

Did you miss the bit where the man in the women’s changing room called the police? Or did you miss the bit where the police said there would be action? Perhaps you missed the bit where we are talking about a 60 year old woman? Maybe you missed the fact the man in fear of the woman after calling the police walked with her to reception?

Re Bromley, I had false information from a Lambethite. Being in Kent, I thought it not unlikely that a Tory borough had fallen.

I am nowhere near you but thank you @MirandainSouthwark for standing up for our rights. I wish you well with the demonstration.

I'm at the other end of the UK, but please let me know how I can support in any other way.

My husband spoke with a woman in our neighbourhood who said loads of women are/were fed up with men in the poolside female changing room and that she herself has moved to another borough's leisure centre. WOW. So women have to opt out and change boroughs to get male-free changing rooms??

It didn't END with the police being called. Either he called them or told someone to call them (because he was using his phone to film). The police spent approx 40 seconds with me. After that I had a long and I thought, productive, discussion with the manager. It isn't her policy. The policy is council-led, top-down, imposed upon all 8 leisure centres,

Sadly I live too far away to join the demonstration much as though I'd like to. However I have emailed the Castle Leisure centre to "express my concerns" about their attitude towards women's rights.

Bromley has a Conservative council, and has done for almost all of this century

Usefully, Southwark has a number of other boroughs adjacent, who might have different policies, especially Bromley, which has gone Reform. Lambeth, Croydon, and Lewisham.
Soutwark women should withhold a proportion of their council tax as they are not receiving the service they are paying for.

Any of you who’d like to join us for a demonstration, please Google my name and email me. Thanks.

Very relevant because The Castle Centre (as well as the other leisure centres in Southwark) used to be run by FirstActive until Southwark Council took them back/over.

As a user with gym membership that was transferred from one t'other, I also have issues with how badly that was done, but I won't go into those!

With changing rooms, some people may change how they present by the simple acts of dressing or undressing.

Don't forget that this was the original UKactive guidance that many gyms may have been using. How a transperson 'presents' is what counts.

(May need to wait for image to load)

Haha love it!
Interestingly, the manager seemed to imagine all TIMs would knock on her door for their “assessment”. Apparently this man hadn’t asked permission, just started using the female changing room.
But of course, per their rules, he makes the cut: ponytail and pink top.
That’s literally all it takes.

I'd like the Leisure Centre/Southwark Council to fully commit to these 'passing assessments', and set up a desk or barrier outside the women's (and men's) changing rooms and vet people as they try to go in. So as to not put the decision on just one person, it could even become a fun group activity, with people voting yay or nay with their thumbs. Gladiatorialesque. It is a leisure and sporting centre after all!

There does seem a big flaw in the policy if, in practice, the assessing comes after the fox has entered the henhouse non-passing person has already gone into the changing room and another gym member points it out to staff

Totally discriminatory.

It also further highlights what a bullshit argument it was in the Peggie judgment to say that it's totally fine to allow men into women's spaces unless and until a woman complains. There is never any acceptable way to complain, it always results in the woman being punished for the act of complaining.

It does highlight the absurdity of that argument. I wonder if this incident could be used as an illustration of this in any appeal against what the Sandie Peggie judge said?

I agree with you about Phillipson’s betrayal of women. She has also betrayed the integrity of her position and the law.

As for this poor woman I am furious on her behalf. Almost worst of all is this man trying to say he was scared because she ( this smaller middle-aged woman) had raised her fist at him.

He was lying that she raised her fist, he was lying that he was scared. Yet he was evidently expecting to be believed and backed-up by the gym - such is the spun narrative about the delicate flowers that are trans women.

I would definitely donate. I was in the leisure centre changing room (no cubicles, showers with curtains) today after my usual gym session, and two early teen girls came in after their swim. It would have been different and inappropriate if it wasn’t me in there but the transwoman of a similar age who used the women’s changing room on occasion in the past. I haven’t seen him for a while so I hope he’s desisted. Perhaps he uses the cubicles in the unisex area.