I emailed my local sauna who advertised 'Men only naked nights' asking if they would allow a trans person who identified as a gay man but presented as female (ie. pre surgery) to attend. They simply answered by saying that I would be more comfortable going to a cross dressing event that runs on another night. I then asked them to clarify that as a gay male identifying, female presenting person I would not be allowed in to their men only night. Again they avoided answering the question directly by saying that the only event I'd be welcome at would be the cross dressing night. I wrote back saying that I actually only identify as a man on fridays (Man Fridays!) and how happy I was to hear that they only allow men who were born men into their male only spaces and that I applaud their common sense. Ha! They then got back to me with a very panicky and defensive response stating that their business has always been welcoming to the trans community both pre and post op and that they did not appreciate me trying to catch them out or wasting their time. Obviously, I was confused by this response and wrote back querying their about turn. Once again, they responded by saying that 'the men only events are for MEN ONLY. ie Male men' but that they have another night where anyone can attend including trans people. The overall tone was defensive and fearful ending with 'We most strongly object to anyone saying we are being excluding or prejudiced towards any part of the community'. Which I'd never actually said or even implied! To summarise, it seems that this sauna business was great at sticking to their sex specific, men only nights but were terrified of having this pointed out publicly. I wonder why?!