Since the UK Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex under the Equality Act 2010 numerous organisations have been falling over themselves to use this very specific ruling as an excuse to ban transgender people from spaces and services, claiming that the law has changed and that the are required to do so; something that is incorrect.
One place that has refused to ban transgender people, and change their long standing stance on the matter, are the Highgate Men's Pond. The pond, which has been inclusive of trans men for many years, has a statement on their website (the very first thing you will see there) that informs the public that they are 'working through the implications' of the ruling before they make any changes. They have also instructed their staff at the pond not to engage the public in discussion on the matter, likely so that misinformation isn't given out, staff are safe, and that no one is left upset.
However, a number of transphobic campaigners, who have made the eradication of transgender people from public life their goal, do not find this to be acceptable. These 'feminists' have called the decision to not segregate a minority group 'unlawful', demonstrating that they have about as much of a grasp on the law as they do reality in general.
A very small group of protestors, apparently just three of them if their photo is anything to go by (we'll be generous and say a fourth is taking the photo), decided that the Ponds choice to be careful and thoughtful in their actions was so enraging that they would give up their time to protest the matter. Calling it 'Bank Holiday Men-day' these three/four old white women went to the pond 'dressed as men', donning inflatables, a crown with the word 'thief' scrawled on it, and a fake beard.
49-year-old Venice Allen, one of the transphobes in attendance, said 'We will continue to invade the men’s space until ours is female-only again! There are three ponds and people with gender identities are safe and welcome at the mixed sex pond.
'Not content with breaking the law, the City of London Corporation is now dragging its own staff into complicity. This draconian order appears to gag workers from even acknowledging their employer’s unlawful conduct to the public,' she said. 'It also instructs staff to report any instance of a swimmer having the temerity to question the breach – effectively encouraging them to inform on concerned members of the public to senior corporation bosses. It’s chilling.'
The Pond has indeed instructed its staff not to speak out on the matter, with notices in their staff huts outlining the best course of action to take if someone brings up the matter with them. It states 'Until further notices from our senior management team we must not get drawn into any conversations with swimmers or visitors about the ruling.'
In regards to questions from the public it tells them to reply 'We are continuing as we are until we hear further from our senior management team.' They are also told to pass any questions on to the press office, and report any swimmer who raises concerns over the lack of single-sex provision to their line manager. 'Please make sure you report any issues or inappropriate behaviour related to the above, using our incident reporting form and let your team leader know so we can escalate accordingly.'
Hardly 'draconian', the instructions seem to have been crafted as a way of protecting its staff from potential abuse, whilst also being able to gauge the public response on the matter. Of course, for people obsessed with the genitalia of complete strangers who want the world to work only their way, this would seem like a nightmare scenario.
A spokesman for the City of London Corporation said 'It is completely false to suggest that the City Corporation is not compliant with existing UK law. We take our obligations very seriously and a carefully considered decision in this complex matter will be taken in due course. In line with many other affected organisations we are carefully considering the judgment and awaiting statutory guidance from the EHRC which, by law, service providers must take into account.'
This anti-trans demonstration, which seemed to only consist of three/four people is overshadowed by the multiple pro-trans demonstrations that have taken place across the UK since the Supreme Court ruling, demonstrations that have attracted hundreds of thousands of people, and shows that the general public back trans people more than it does silly women in fake beards who want to boil people's lives and rights down to what genitals a doctor saw when they were born.
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