Hostelling Scotland- are the dorms currently allocated by sex or by gender?

[Bergamotte]

I need to stay in a youth hostel this summer. I thought I had read on here that any woman needing a single-sex dorm had to contact the organisation in advance.

I realise now that I had mixed two different threads in my memory. The organisation which specifically stated that, for example, "victims of abuse" should get in touch in advance, was YHA England and Wales, not Hostelling Scotland.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/3662983-Shocked-by-YHA-transgender-policy-wording

but Hostelling Scotland was letting males identify into women's dorms in 2018.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/3280690-Hostelling-Scotland-allows-men-to-self-ID-as-women-and-have-access-to-womens-dorms-and-shower-rooms?

I emailed to ask if I could be in a female-only dorm (I am female) and got the attached response.
I've also attached their current "Approach to Inclusion."

That looks like it will be pretty safe that it will be only females in the bedroom, right? Or does anyone have any recent experience to the contrary?

I think I will reply to thank them for clarifying. I'm totally happy to share with different "gender presentations" - butch women, transmen, female non-binary identified people etc.

I find travel stressful enough without having to worry about strange penises being in the room where I'm asleep, or about having to carefully word emails to avoid being seen as a bigot.

If the image is difficult to read- customer services said:
"All of our dorms at Edinburgh are single sex so you are in an all-female dorm."

I think you should ask for specific clarification. I'm tired so can't think of the way to word it but penises is the point.

Single sex is single sex. In their statement they mention gender.

Single gender is not the same as single sex so you should he fine.

Single sex should be very clear. But it might be worth just double checking that they are referring to biological sex , not gender.

The trouble with the double-speak is that it makes it very hard for anyone to clarify exactly what anyone else means.

It'll be heartening to hear that they are clear on single sex operating on the basis of biological sex.

Please report back, OP. Would be useful to know.
You can never be totally sure though. I was attacked by a transwoman in a youth hostel dorm 20 years ago, at a time when the policy was single sex, with any trans people to be accommodated in private rooms. They were interviewed by the police and told off by the hostel, but were in the women's dorms at a different hostel the following weekend. Weird but true.

The application form just states males/females. What stops transwomen booking bed in the female dorm? The safety, comfort and dignity the blurb talks of is to reassure transwomen. The words we used to describe ourselves as a sex class and the common understanding that transgressing these is deviance have been taken away. The ideology that did this will now taunt us by saying that the logical conclusion of our wish to share with our sex class is that showing genitals is the criteria for admission, because they told anyone with a penis that feels like a woman in their head they can go where they wish. The only way a woman can be guaranteed a dignified experience in a youth hostel is to book a private room.

Youth hostels used to be a great way for a single person to go on holiday economically. But this is too high a price to pay. I'd only go with friends or family now, in which case it would probably be cheaper to rent an Airbnb.

They did update their policy due to a ManFriday action, so it is single-sex. Unfortunately, it is really difficult for any organisation to uphold this - they ask for photo ID when booking in, but as we know these can be changed by self-id.

forwomen.scot/26/11/2018/hostelling-scotland-caledonian-sleeper-northlink-ferries-update/