Men with a penis access these spaces all of the time in order to get access to and assault women. They nearly always get away with it too. They absolutely don't need to pretend to be transgender in order to do that. If we really care about protecting women then let's do something about that rather than going after trans women (who are also one of most at risk groups of sexual assault themselves and have an average life expectancy of 36 years of age)
I'm a woman and I don't really care to see anyone else's genitals in a changing room or in a toilet. Which is fine because they have a door and I don't have to. Also nobody has really explained how it should work if we get rid of self ID in changing rooms. It sounds humiliating and discriminatory to me that any woman could be forced to prove her sex if she doesn't look traditionally feminine.
I've been groped and flashed at on numerous occasions in my life, some of my friends have suffered worse, and it wasn't trans women causing the problem. It was men.
As for prisons, they should be safe full stop. It's strange to me that people's interest in the welfare of female prisoners begins and ends at whether or not a trans woman might end up in prison with them. Female prisoners would be much better served if people took more interest in the circumstances that have seen them end up in prison. More often than not these are vulnerable women who have been exploited by....men.
I just think it's a massive shame how trans women are being excluded and their freedoms limited because of the crimes of men. I'm happy to share my spaces with trans women and I think very extreme fringe arguments and examples are too often given centre stage in order to undermine their need to live their lives in in peace.
I know not all men are abusers. I have lots of brilliant male friends. But the fact remains that it is men and not trans women (and also not men pretending to be trans women) who pose a bigger threat to women. Trans people should be free to live their lives in peace and access the spaces where they feel safest.
Apologies if people find it a cop out but I won't reply to any further posts on this. I find this such a sad and exhausting topic. I just wanted to add some balance to the views in here. Thanks.