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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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Original poster

Youth Hostels Association placing men in women's dorms.

37 replies

ArabellaSaurus · 29/09/2025 10:24

The YHA are apparently determined to put men into female-only dorms.

Trans identifying man Debbie Hayton booked in July 2025:

'On July 16, YHA customer services told me that,
‘You are welcome to stay in our female dormitory, as you are a woman. We split our dorms by gender, and not sex, so our guests can stay in the room they assign themselves with.’
...

'If any guest does not want to stay in a dorm with any other guest, we offer private rooms… We consulted our solicitors while developing the policy to ensure that it was informed by and compliant with law. We consulted other organisations including the NSPCC, Scouts, Mermaids and Gendered Intelligence on different aspects of the policy. We have also taken advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Our policy was considered and approved by our Board of Trustees… We sought legal advice from our solicitors following the Supreme Court ruling, which indicated that no changes to our policy were needed, pending the final updated Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which we now await.’

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-is-the-yha-allowing-males-to-stay-in-womens-dorms/

https://archive.ph/mD9Ce#selection-1807.0-1807.772

Thread from 2019;

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

So they appear to be breaking the law.

https://www.yha.org.uk/contact-us

Why is the YHA allowing males to stay in women’s dorms?

On April 16, the Supreme Court ruled that the meaning of the terms  ‘sex’, ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the Equality Act refer to biology. More than three months later, you might think that the Youth Hostels Association (YHA) – an organisation that provides si...

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-is-the-yha-allowing-males-to-stay-in-womens-dorms/

OP posts:
notacooldad · 30/09/2025 10:50

*This is one of the reasons I won’t stay in a hostel. You can’t guarantee your safety.
They usually have single rooms as well as dorms.
which cost more than a bed in dorms...

Obviously.

But ive always found them a good option and out of main seasons good value.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 30/09/2025 15:43

Bobbymoore123 · 30/09/2025 10:17

You literally have a gendered title as a username. Titles (like pronouns 😨) are often gendered signifiers and are as much part of societal gender as clothes or changing rooms or sexist expectations or anything else that is not pure biology, gender is how human society has learned to signify and perform biology. It is sensible to be think critically about gender, our current patriarchal society is a consequence of gender, however that is not the same thing as rejecting gender entirely.

Sorry for the rant but the way people bandy about the concept of being gender critical or rejecting gender while clearly not understanding what gender is or what any of that means is frustrating, I'd rather people at least be conscientiously hurtful than ignorantly as many people here are now.

Edited
Show quote history

This is a hilariously misconceived post.

IwantToRetire · 30/09/2025 17:07

BaronessEllarawrosaurus · 30/09/2025 10:39

Actually the title is sex based and has nothing to do with gender. See I refuse to submit to the gendered expectations placed on me due to my sex, I don't however refuse to acknowledge my sex, I just don't let it define me.

Edited to add:

Gender is a crock of shit, it's a word that's used to put women in their place. I just refuse to comply. I acknowledge biological differences between the sexes but that's on a biological reality.

Edited

Agree - it is amazing how many have got locked in the false queer politics use of the word gender. Which is a political tactic to undermine the reality that sex is a biological fact.

Chersfrozenface · 30/09/2025 17:29

notacooldad · 30/09/2025 10:50

*This is one of the reasons I won’t stay in a hostel. You can’t guarantee your safety.
They usually have single rooms as well as dorms.
which cost more than a bed in dorms...

Obviously.

But ive always found them a good option and out of main seasons good value.

I've just checked Generator London for 4 nights on dates we want to go to London.

A private room for 2, but still with shared bathroom, is £116.70 a night, flexible rate, total £466.80.

A double room in the Travelodge we usually use, 15 minutes from Victoria, is £395.96 total, flexible rate, with its own en suite bathroom.

I know which one I'll be booking

notacooldad · 30/09/2025 17:37

I know which one I'll be booking
Fair enough i wouldn't pay that much either! Ive never been to London. The last Generator i went to was in Berlin a couple of years ago.

Not Youth Hostel Association but we used 4 bedroom family rooms in hostels all over Europe and has really good inexpensive holidays particularly in expensive countries like Iceland and Switzerland.

IwantToRetire · 30/09/2025 17:37

Slightly off topic - or maybe not - I remembered an article promoting a new women's hostel in London, and thought that's interesting.

So have just checked the web site, and not exactly hidden, but if you weren't looking for it you wouldn't know it is trans inclusive.

Sigh.

https://www.hostelle.co.uk/

Hostelle - A female only hostel in London

Hostelle is a hostel especially designed for women. Our hostel is clean and equipped with beautifully decorated rooms designed by various artists.

https://www.hostelle.co.uk

Greyskybluesky · 30/09/2025 17:51

IwantToRetire · 30/09/2025 17:37

Slightly off topic - or maybe not - I remembered an article promoting a new women's hostel in London, and thought that's interesting.

So have just checked the web site, and not exactly hidden, but if you weren't looking for it you wouldn't know it is trans inclusive.

Sigh.

https://www.hostelle.co.uk/

Ah yes, the "inclusivity policy" which is actually exclusive as some women will self-exclude

How do they stand now with this after the SCR?

IwantToRetire · 30/09/2025 18:06

Greyskybluesky · 30/09/2025 17:51

Ah yes, the "inclusivity policy" which is actually exclusive as some women will self-exclude

How do they stand now with this after the SCR?

Show quote history

Not sure as they aren't a service provider but a commercial company.

And they dont reference the EA and it is within the use of that that the word woman is now confirmed to be based on biological sex.

Dont want to derail this thread as it comes up over and over again, but if they just said up front for women and trans women (and not claiming any part of the EA) what would the challenge be?

Except maybe a man who says he is being excluded when other men are allowed in.

Original poster
ArabellaSaurus · 30/09/2025 18:36

Yes, discrimination is not permitted except if one invokes the SSEs. That covers service providers - in the same way that hotels are not allowed to ban someone because of their religion/race/sex, etc.

OP posts:
Peregrina · 30/09/2025 22:05

Ah yes, the "inclusivity policy" which is actually exclusive as some women will self-exclude

Whereas what it should say is that transmen are welcome, because they after all are women.

Portakalkedi · 30/09/2025 22:15

So if a woman objects to having a man in their dorm, then will they provide that single room at the same cost? Glad my hostelling days are over.

Letmeoutodhere · 30/09/2025 22:19

Tortelliniortortelloni · 30/09/2025 06:40

I once stayed in a hostel (not yha) and it was mixed. The guy next to me was wanking all night. It was not pleasant. Ironically, I'd actually moved from the single room I'd booked there because I didn't feel safe as it was apart from the main building with a feeble lock. I would like to start hostelling again but this really puts me off.

Oh my god how utterly disgusting

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