Thread by @MForstater

Harry Josephine Giles has a point here

Males are excluded from female-only spaces by default

(not just *can be*: the rules exclude them, the question is do they follow the rule or try to break it)

https://twitter.com/HarryJosieGiles/status/1265280706780917760

But as Harry says there is a problem because asking "are you the right sex to be in here?" is seen by some people as an invasion of their privacy

So organisations adopt stupid policies like this

https://twitter.com/Jessica12uk/status/1328500886046449672

Because they are told by @ehrc and @GEOgovuk that it is the right thing to do.

And they are confused and afraid to stand up against their own internal lobbies.

a-question-of-consent.net/2020/05/25/the…

Confused and afraid is not a good state for making rules for toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards, dormitories, hostels...

You need clear rules so women don't feel confused and afraid about whether males are able to access the spaces where they are vulnerable.

@GalopUK says that "asking invasive questions" (i.e. enforcing clear rules) is a hate crime, the most common one in their survey

galop.org.uk/wp-content/upl…

The way to solve this is to recognise that single sex spaces are places which require the question "are you the right sex to be in here?"

For some people that question feels invasive, so these spaces do not suit them.

Unisex alternative spaces do not require that question

This used to be better understood. This is Stephen Whittle in 1994 explaining that women have "every right" to complain about a male in their space, and cross-dressers and "pre-op" MTFs should avoid women's spaces wherever possible.

Now we are told you can't say "pre-op" or "cross dress" & asking Qs is a hate crime.

And this is not only about public toilets but about whether someone can lie about their sex when applying for a job at a rape crisis centre

Or putting their hand inside a woman's vagina

a-question-of-consent.net/2020/09/16/doc…