Uproar as sex-change men allowed to use ladies’ pond
And a woman who wanted to become a man recently sparked outrage after calling for the pond to be made “gender fluid”.
Ms Roberts, who has been swimming in the ladies’ pond for 32 years, said: “I and many others are threatened by having to have essentially ‘cross dressers’ come to the pond and openly use our private space.
“Women have few private spaces and we have had to fight many times to keep the pond open.
“Can men not allow women have any private space?”
Hampstead Heath has three swimming ponds, one each for men and women and a mixed bathing pool. Actress Helena Bonham Carter and comedian Rhona Cameron are regular users of the ladies’ pond.
Feminist writer Julie Bindel, who has also used the pond for more than three decades, said: “It is to totally unacceptable to allow men who identify as women, but who are otherwise male-bodied and socialise as men, to be in a women-only space.
“I have seen mothers bring their young daughters who are self-conscious about their bodies but want to feel good about swimming and exposing their skin to the sun. The last thing they want is to look behind them and see a male-bodied person pretending to be a woman in order to gawp at them.”
The City of London Corporation, which manages the lake, confirmed men transitioning to a woman would be able to use the pond and female changing rooms. It said: “Over the last year all lifeguards and managers at Hampstead Heath ponds have taken transgender awareness training courses, which have been offered to, and taken by, the ponds’ swimming associations as well.”
It was working with the alternative sexuality community “to ensure our facilities are fit to serve the needs of everyone who enjoys them, and will continue to do so in the future”. Trans Actual, an organisation which promotes transgender rights, wrote on Twitter: “The Ladies’ Pond is still preserved for women.
“Trans women are women. We’re not sure why you’re referring to trans women as men.”