my university is allowing men to enter women's bathrooms changing rooms etc!

[whyyyyyisitmonddayy]

I'm a student at this uni. I love it here, but it is a left leaning uni (as am I!)
I should add, I'm quite slight and petite and am generally very nervous of men.
Today, I got this email saying that they're letting people choose bathrooms or changing rooms based on "how they feel" and stated that whichever bathroom etc you want to use, you can enter in the name of inclusivity!
I'm very open to gender identity etc. I'm bi, and I have friends of all gender identities. I have trans friends, those who don't conform to binaries, etc, and I respect them greatly. and I am completely okay with sharing the majority of bathrooms at the uni, as that doesn't both me. I personally don't understand how you can feel like something you are scientifically not, but you only live once so you might as well be your true self.
but now I'm left wondering about gym changing rooms at the uni, as I'm not as okay with that. one does not have stalls and neither do the showers, so I'm expected to be be vulnerable in front of those who have genitalia which I don't want to see or be in bare in front of.
this also opens up the chances that a guy could walk into women's changing rooms, watch, and cannot be challenged
it also raises question of faith. it is not excluding women who cannot be naked in front of anyone but women (same goes for men). "just use the stalls, disabled loo etc" doesn't cut it as their isn't enough of those to go round and then those who actually need disabled toilets can't use them.
I also want there to be a couple of women only bathrooms too, because it doesn't seem fair I'm being told men will be entering women's bathrooms and the uni supports this, but religious / personal wishes to be in women only spaces is being walked over.
this is less about trans women entering these spaces, and more about harmful men entering them (although I don't want to see male gentalia in women's changing rooms full stop)
I can't speak out or ask as I will be ostracised and it's not worth my future.

Are you sure it's a legitimate email and not from someone trying to wind you up?
Using facilities "based on how they feel"? - bonkers.
I do hope they'll be providing litter trays for those that feel like a cat today.

I don’t believe that. Though I totally understand your reasoning. I do believe though that the criteria for entry for a women’s only space needs to be significantly higher than “feeling like it at the time”.
id love to say I had a solution. That there’s some criteria that trans women could meet that gives them entry to women only spaces but I don’t know what that would be. I did share your “XX” view of womanhood and in someways I agree but I feel incredibly uncomfortable with the idea of a trans woman who has been living that way for decades post surgery etc being forced into the “men’s” space where they would be extremely vulnerable and the stats should that being a trans woman is far riskier than being a cis woman.

Which uni is it? Use a different name and post here

am some people can report for you x

But harmful men don't have to pretend anything if anyone can go in any bathroom.

Why did transwomen fight for rights to get into female-only toilets, only to be okay with them then being made mixed sex?

Surely transwomen are going to be even more upset by this rule given they fought so hard to get into female-only spaces?

Men, no matter how they choose to dress or what gender identity they adopt are not women.

They have no place in spaces reserved for female people. If they feel unsafe then they need to advocate for third spaces or, even better, educate other men not to be more accepting that men can wear what they want.

Luckily the law in this country doesn't force women to share single sex spaces with men with trans identities.

There is a solution - third, mixed sex spaces. The law is very clear on this and a large prestigious university can easily reallocate some of it’s many loos to be mixed sex or subdivide exiting one and add a door.

It isn’t rocket science - and this university is breaking the law as it has a legal responsibility to provide a single sex provision, with or without a separate mixed sex provision.

They can use the unisex loos

Or perhaps DM a few of us so that we have the uni details and can mass report. I do think sex matters would help and have a pathway that would maintain your anonymity, so I would definitely contact them and forward the content of the email you mention.

There must hundreds or thousands at any university in the UK. If you were to post the name of the university on a forum such as this, where the post is under a user name, not your real name, there should be no chance that anyone would know who made the post.

Do your tutors know you as whyyyyisiþmonddayy?

So you are saying, your Lesbian, Bisexual women don't mind if men come in their changing room? I don't think you can see the wood for the trees.

If you don't like it, you must complain. How dare they send a note around the campus and expect all the women to bow down to it??

Around 90% of transwomen retain their penis.

Prison statistics show that the percentage of transwomen in prison for sexual offences is higher than the percentage of non trans identifed men ( and of course significantly higher than women)

Obtaining a gender recognition certificate doesn't require that person to have had any surgery or take any hormones.

What criteria do suggest for allowing some men to use female single sex spaces?

Ask them for their risk assessment on this new policy. They should be doing one at least.

Join the Free Speech Union and talk to Connie.
Ignore left / right
Do the correct thing

The University are breaking the law (and they know it)

@whyyyyyisitmonddayy

trans women are just men. Men with a trans identity have a much higher rate if sex offending than men without so they’re not a safer demographic.

if the facilities are labelled for women then if they have a policy that people can use them based on their feelings, that is unlawful. If they claim to be sex segregated but do nothing to enforce it, it’s much harder.

as others have said, I would contact Sex Matters. You could also try writing to the university Chancellor explains they’re in breach of the Supreme Court judgment.

I've voted yabu because this is what leftists want and you're a leftist. Unfortunately, the rest of us have to live with it as well.

Id send an anonymous copy of the email to the local paper.

This is very real, if that’s what you mean. I’m also surprised they took so long to produce the statement

Your university must have a route for reporting matters that would fall under Whisteblowing, or Public Interest Disclosures, on their website as anyone should be able to report non compliance concerns, and be able to do so anonymously. It’ll be where they have the website terms and conditions and modern slavery statement etc.

Unfortunately being leftist doesn’t mean you agree with every single policy. If I say I’m right in betraying my other sentiments. I agree with 80% of leftist sentiment. You’re never going to completely politically align with something

Thank you for the advice, I’ll see if there’s a way of covering my own back

i thought it was a wind up until I saw the ac.uk email and that it came from multiple heads of department via a forwarded forward from the VC.

This too. I don’t want to see a “woman’s” penis while I’m getting changed in the changing rooms.
I’m really into live drawing and used to go a lot. Back then I used to draw a lot of trans women who still had penises and that setting I was absolutely fine with it!

"..being a trans woman is far riskier than being a cis woman."

Ha ha, nice try.

Me too.

This 100% feels like a post aimed just to blow up and rile people.

It's been a while since we've had a thread like this though maybe the OP thought we were due one.

Any chance of a look at the letter OP?