-
Transgender ban at Coogee women’s baths fuels controversy
Earlier this week the ABC reported on developments following a decision to ban non-op transgender women from the Coogee women’s baths. The fight to reverse this stupid ruling was lead by Cass Judy as described in this article:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-23/transgender-ocean-swimmer-judy-cassy-fight-incluson/100021756
McIver’s Ladies Baths, a women-only ocean pool a short walk from the
beach, came under fire this year for declaring only transgender women
who had undergone gender affirmation surgery were allowed to swim there.After a community backlash the pool, managed by the Randwick and Coogee Ladies Swimming Association, changed the language on its website to say transgender women, as defined in the NSW Discrimination Act, were allowed.
But Ms Judy says there is more to be done.
“They haven’t issued an apology,” she said. “The initial message has been removed, but the legal situation still remains quite unclear.”
I particularly related to the point Cass made:
“For me, [the baths] was a place where I went before surgery just to feel accepted and included as a woman.
“There is an importance and a need for women’s only spaces that are inclusive of trans women, whether or not they’ve had surgery, because it’s what’s between our ears, not what’s between our legs.”
-
3 Replies
-
The follow-up from this article resulted in the ABC asserting:
The ABC has boldly declared ‘there is no such thing as free speech in Australia’ after banning users during a heated discussion about a transgender swimmer on the national broadcaster’s Facebook page.
The strident declaration about free speech came after some users were kicked off the page over alleged transphobic and sexist comments.An initial moderator post in the article thread asked people to avoid being ‘nasty’ in response to the article and warned that the page ‘will not tolerate any transphobic or sexist commentary’.
‘We will be hiding comments and banning users without further notice if you breach our terms’.
It posted a link to the terms, which under the heading ‘ABC Online Communities’ said it encourages ‘rigorous debate and the sharing of diverse opinions’ but ‘expects community members to treat each other with respect and courtesy’.
Later on Thursday, the page moderator stated: ‘We have deleted and banned users as per ABC’s Terms of Use’ and again provided the link.
From there, the moderator’s message became notably more strident, stating: ‘FYI – There is no such thing as free speech in Australia.’
‘Hate speech or transphobic comments will not be tolerated regardless if it’s your opinion.’
This was reported in the UK Daily Mail – a paper holding more sensational standards, so they allowed comments – which were predictably pretty grubby. I’m not posting the article link because it isn’t worthy of web traffic.
-
This reply was modified 4 years ago by Adrian.
-
This reply was modified 4 years ago by
-
Sydney Morning Herald reported today that the Management of the baths that introduced the ban on Transgender women have been voted out, Perhaps not totally for that reason but a good move nonetheless.
-
The article said that
A special meeting held on Thursday night of more than 50 members of the Randwick and Coogee Ladies Swimming Club, which manages the ocean pool in the eastern suburbs, voted unanimously to elect new office holders. The group believes it now has a mandate to take over the management and has asked Randwick Council to undertake an independent review of the pool’s operations.
Interim president-elect Tracy Grujovic of Coogee said there was a strong feeling at the meeting that in recent times the pool was being run more as a business than a not-for-profit, which is why they asked current president Marianne Kadunc and her committee members to step down.
“There had been an authoritarian running of the pool of late, with lots of restrictions and a loss of the welcoming, leisurely atmosphere and spirit the place once had,” Ms Grujovic said. “We want to give the pool back to the community….it had lost its soul and ethos under this management.”So maybe there were other controversial decisions made beside the now-rescinded Transgender ban.
-
