Center Parcs upholding single sex spaces?

[gcnotterf1]

www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/10/30/center-parcs-trans-woman-changing-rooms-equalities-act-victoria-hodges/

Perfect solution, Centre Parks!

Interesting.

Aimee Challenor tweeted from Centre Parcs last year at the exact time that the outcome of the Veritas report into the Green Party was due out.

Their distinction between "fully transitioned" and "in the transition period" makes me nervous as I think some people would claim that simply declaring "I am a man/woman" makes them fully transitioned. GRC is at least clear, though are they allowed to ask to see one?

Cunning yes, I've emailed them too

I saw their response separating sex and gender and did a little happy dance.

No matter how much Stonewall et al want it, it IS LEGAL to have single sex exemptions. Clearly a communal changing room should be single sex.

Good for Center Parcs for applying equalities law correctly & doing the right thing for women & girls.

help.centerparcs.co.uk/app/ask

Link to their email page

The TRAs will attack them. I'm going to email in support.

No, a certificate shouldn't make any difference as humans cannot change sex.

This is fantastic news! Never been but heard great things about it. Good to see someone listens to women and as others have said, knows its customer base.

It might be more accurate to say that Center Parcs is closer to upholding the equalities act than other companies.

Is that something to be celebrated?

No, but it's a start and it's a vast improvement on the stance of places like Topshop. Very few GRC's are issued so whilst it might still be an issue on occasion it's vastly better than allowing any male to use female facilities because they feel like it.

Hardly any have GRCs and self-ID is off the table for now. Good for Centre Parcs. I doubt they will be too worried if the TRAs boycott them as I doubt it was their sort of place to begin with.

Just for reference, it's not just the spa area that has single sex facilities - the swimming area (at least in the Longleat CP) has communal, single sex changing areas off to the side of all the regular, mixed sex cubicles. They aren't much used and often very quiet/totally empty.

Is that something to be celebrated?

I think the fact that a company has had the nouse to differentiate between sex and gender and interpret the Equality Act correctly for once, and has had the guts to say so publicly (especially in such a coherent way) is something to celebrate.

Obviously, the GRC issue is still a major issue and I agree that it doesn't mean there will be no transwomen in the changing rooms at Center Parcs, but if companies are going to interpret the law however they like, it doesn't really matter what the law says.

In recent years, the fact that businesses are frequently interpreting the Equality Act's references to 'sex' to mean 'gender' has been very scary. So the fact that a big company has publicly said what we've all been saying, unheard, for ages - basically 'no, hang on a minute..sex and gender aren't the same thing' is huge and definitely worthy of celebration.

Genuine question. Don't you actually have to have completed gender re-assignment surgery to avail of a GRC?

So - and I am not here to get into a debate on sex/gender etc etc and I am also happy with CPs before anyone eats me - those who DO have a GRC will certainly outwardly present as female (in this case) and look no different in the changing rooms. They are also much less likely to be 'using' trans to gain access to female safe spaces for nefarious purposes (which is a clear concern where self ID is concerned). Can't see someone growing tits, getting their penis lopped off etc just to get into a woman's space for the wrong reasons?!

Also, from the article, this person has been a transwoman for less than a year and expects to immediately be granted access to the women’s changing facilities? I don’t think it quite works like that.

Potter you don’t strictly need surgery but you need to convince a panel that you have lived as a member of the opposite sex for two years and it’s hard to do that if you haven’t bothered changing your body.

I also think that we need to move away from the idea that there will be lots of ‘fakers’ pretending to be trans to gain access to changing rooms so they can assault women. There probably won’t be BUT the point is that for reasons of privacy and dignity (and to an extent safety), women should have single sex facilities. I don’t think that any of my male relatives or friends will try to rape me but I still wouldn’t want to get changed alongside them. It’s not about assaults- it’s more about not having to get changed alongside someone who is the opposite sex, whether they’re a serial killer or a saint.

Ova, Pota, Longines …

Yes. I hadn't looked at it in that light.

No you do not need any surgery or even hormones to get a GRC. You only need the totally meaningless “lived as a woman” for two years. So someone male, with male genitalia, could still use the changing rooms if they have a GRC, according to Centre Parks, or I have I misunderstood? You are allowed to exclude someone with a GRC under the Equality Act.

Also the issue isn’t just “fakers” identifying as women in order to assalt them, the issue is that autogynaephiles want to use women’s spaces in order to get a sexual kick. AGPs have been defined as “trans” by Stonewall.
I have had to deal with an AGP in a single occupancy ( therefore either sex) changing room, when I worked in a small shop. It was horrible.

I have had to deal with an AGP in a single occupancy ( therefore either sex) changing room, when I worked in a small shop. It was horrible

@SirVixofVixHall Much sympathy. Sounds horrendous.

A naked (but for a thin and clingy silk nightdress) man with a huge erection asking (young) me what I thought of how he looked, is not something I would want my daughters to have to deal with.