I was changing in my gym's changing room (ladies' one) and saw what looked like a woman with short hair coming out of a cubicle. I was in a state of nearly full undress . S/he turned and it was actually a man--probably a trans person, but male-bodied nonetheless. I froze on the spot, he smiled, but then realised I was quite shocked... so turned and left. I am no pushover and am quite used to communal spaces, but not with males... and felt immensely distressed and intimidated by this episode... The second time this happened (with a different individual) I was pregnant and I was feeling even more exposed. About 2 years later, same changing room... this time the person in question was quite young and dressed in a feminine way though still male bodied and male-looking... and was accompanied by a female friend who seemed to stare around the room, to other users... just in case we objected? Which nobody did. It was really intimidating, and as I said, my state might have compounded this feeling.

#unitedkingdom #gym #changingrooms