First time ladies pond, Hampstead

[PanicButton99]

Went for the first time to the ladies pond in hampstead this week and had a blast. Definitely want to go back. I got naked in the open showers like others as i wanted to get the algae off of me. I’m aware of their current regulations but feel a bit alarmed by this.

Is it really the case that a man who identifies as a woman could come in at any point and start showering naked with his penis out and the staff would consider this to be fine? I’m a survivor of sexual abuse and this feels really alarming to me and puts me on edge about going. Are the other women who get naked there fine with this?

i also heard that women who identify as men are not allowed to swim topless in the men’s pond so it feels like double standards?

i feel really sad about it because it feels like it would be a lovely space to be nude and relax and feel free and safe around other women but now i just feel on edge that there could be a man around.

Firstly the mixed pond is not as nice it’s very silty. Secondly the mixed pond is closed all winter.

The man I saw was there with a female friend so maybe he wanted to swim with his friend?

Well, now I kind of want to know your rough age, because if that's true then there's a generation with poor thinking skills.
Firstly, why is "doing something in a quick, accurate and efficient way" bad?
Secondly, why is "living a decent length of time" bad? Or are you the type of person who calls anyone ten years older than you a boomer?
Thirdly, I suspect a lot of "boomer" touch-typists were more working-class than middle, it being a skill that could lead to a decent job without the expense/delay in earning of university or even sixth form.

ppl can't always have what they want can they - that's life

The main shared characteristic of 'touch typists' is naturally 'being female'.

It's bringing to mind the old sexist joke, about men being likely to be rapists and women being more likely to be typists. I may be misremembering slightly.

'That's not my pond, its water is too silty'
'That's not my pond, it's changing room is too bollocky'
'That's not my pond, its aura is too masculine'
'Ooh, that pond has access to naked women - THATS MY POND'

It was bringing to mind sex fudge, tbh. Silty ponds and sexy fudge.

😳

A similar thing happened to me.

Can you not even wrap your head around the notion that if the man wanted to swim with his female friend they should have both used the mixed sex pond?
What is actually wrong with you?
Silty 🙄

Coincidentally, Google thought I'd want to read this article

Five of the best outdoor swimming venues for Muslim women - Hyphen https://share.google/BlyxoaInSecgEswvt

I don't know about the other four places but the first is notoriously no longer women only.

I take exception to the idea that I’m spreading hate by saying trans people should use a mixed sex pond instead of the ladies pond (or mens). I have no hate for trans people. I think they should be made comfortable and be treated with dignity. I don’t think that needs to come at the expense of women. This very extreme viewpoint that trans people literally are the sex they desire to be has to stop. No one believe that outside a tiny subset of society. It’s not hate to say trans people deserve protection but that transwomen aren’t women and that women need protection too. It’s the majority view in the UK and also the law.

I have seen men dressed in ‘female dress’ heading both into and out of the women’s pond, though.

Apparently a swimmer was wearing a swimsuit yesterday embroidered with the words ‘trans women are men’.

And just so sad that women who want to bathe away from the male gaze now cannot do so, something women had to fight for more than 100 years ago. The women’s pond is said to be the oldest dedicated female open bathing space in Europe.

It’s not only about the showers or changing rooms (although that’s obviously an issue) but about women being able to swim, and loll on the grass, free from the male gaze. Women fought for that right at the pond, so it’s sad that they have now lost it. The fight continues, though.

Yes but the pond authorities (and apparently the lifesavers), the city of London, don’t, and it’s going back to court shortly.

😂 pathetic attempt to save face

The women I know who have gone there, especially the younger two, would be considered very attractive by most men I think. For them it was not just about the male gaze, but men seeking to engage with them whilst they were chatting together or just reading a book.

You are commenting on your one experience, not on the experience more generally.

Angry echo chamber - the irony 🙄

And if I’m going for a swim why do I need to need to ‘acknowledge’ anyone? As well as expecting us to silently accept our single sex spaces being violated, do we need to bow down now too?

I suggest that is your projection rather than an accurate picture of reality or the broadness and range of people who post here.

Why didn't they go to the men's pool instead?

That is simply not true. 'Identifying as' is the keystone of gender identity theory.

Obviously if you were born male, then you are male and will always remain so.

I also prefer to swim in the bath. No open water for me 😀

Chlamydia soup?

Masha not only talks crap but says it in a rude, offensive way.
But the hate is not from TRAs and their mates is it? Hmm

Disbelieving and pouring scorn on womens' accounts of sexual harassment/unwanted behaviour from MEN is about as low as you can get. Absolutely disgusting.

I do not believe Masha is a woman. Comes across just like a misogynistic bloke.

If a male and female want to swim together then the answer is the mixed sex pond. If this is closed or unusable for some reason then there are many other mixed sex spaces to swim in London. Should married men have access if they "just want" to swim with their wife?

Why must the "maybe he just wanted" of a man trump the "actual needs" of women who have suffered assault at the hands of men? Or the cultural or faith based requirements of some women?
If TW really were W they would quick sharp discover that no-one cares what they need let alone what they "want".