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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nT<\/span>he first thing I fell in love with was the bodies. Hairy ones. Small, curved, and contoured ones. Long, flat, and slightly out-of-proportion ones. Smooth, oily, suncream-covered ones. Wobbly, lovely little dimpled ones. And every other kind of one you could imagine. If there\u2019s a singular piece that celebrates the female body in all its gorgeously raw glory, Kenwood Ladies\u2019 Pond at Hampstead Heath is it. <\/p>\nAs a regular visitor for more than a decade, I am hopelessly devoted to it and have been ever since my first dip. I\u2019ve spent endless afternoons in that meadow in various states of repose: alone with a book, picking at tubs of olives with old friends, bitching about bad dates with new ones. During the few years when I was lucky to live within running distance, I\u2019d often jog there with a bikini underneath my workout clothes only to instantly disrobe on arrival and cool down in the water. It was heaven. That brings me to the pond itself: bracing, intimidatingly deep, and mystically peaceful. You enter the water as one version of yourself and emerge as another.<\/p>\n
While the ladies\u2019 pond is many things for many people, for me, its magic has always been rooted in inclusivity. It\u2019s a safe space open to all who identify as female \u2013 and since 2019, that invitation has been explicitly extended to trans women by the City of London Corporation, which runs the facility. But that decision, one rooted in the pond\u2019s inherently inclusive spirit, has come to characterise the space with conversations and who is and is not permitted to enjoy it.<\/p>\n
The charity Sex Matters is preparing to take legal action against the City of London Corporation, claiming that the inclusion of trans women at the ladies\u2019 pond is in breach of the law following the Supreme Court ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex under the Equality Act. Whether or not a ban against trans women will, or even could, be imposed remains unclear. What I do know is that even the idea itself goes against everything the ladies\u2019 pond represents to me and every other woman I know who frequents it. <\/p>\n
There are so few spaces where women can gather freely and safely, enjoying one another\u2019s eclectic quirks and charms in a communal space that is fundamentally about celebration and joy. I\u2019ve had conversations in that changing room with women in their nineties who\u2019ve been swimming there for decades, and have only ever championed the ladies\u2019 pond\u2019s commitment to inclusivity. And I\u2019ve witnessed women of all ages and backgrounds engaging happily and freely without any issue. To my mind, trans woman are \u2013 and always have been \u2013 a small but integral part of that. And I can\u2019t help but think it\u2019s a minority of people who think differently. How many of them, I wonder, have ever even spoken to a trans woman at the ladies\u2019 pond?<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>A woman climbing out of Hampstead Heath\u2019s ladies\u2019 pond in winter (Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nI\u2019ve never once felt unsafe in the presence of a trans woman, whether that\u2019s at the ladies\u2019 pond, in a women\u2019s bathroom, or anywhere else. And I find it desperately sad that some women say they do, citing fears and anxieties that to me have only ever seemed theoretical. The response also seems wildly disproportionate when you consider just how few trans women there are in this country (0.01 per cent, according to the 2021 census) and the fact that this is just one pond in one city. Surely there are other, more pressing concerns that women face for these campaigners to be focusing on?<\/p>\n
With all this in mind, the future of the ladies\u2019 pond looks uncertain. Whether it\u2019s who is and isn\u2019t permitted to swim, or simply the disruption the debate itself has caused among regular swimmers, regardless of their gender, it\u2019s clear that the serenity myself and other devoted regulars have come to love is slowly being shattered. And a space that was once defined by peace has been inadvertently hijacked by a conversation based on what seems to be a largely hypothetical threat. In the end, one has to ask whether it will have all been worth it. Only time will tell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more The first thing I fell in love with was the bodies. Hairy ones. Small, curved, and contoured ones. Long, flat, and slightly out-of-proportion ones. Smooth, oily, suncream-covered ones. Wobbly, lovely little dimpled ones. And every other kind of one you could imagine. If there\u2019s a singular piece that celebrates the female body in all its gorgeously raw glory, Kenwood Ladies\u2019 Pond at Hampstead Heath is it. As a regular visitor for more than a decade, I am hopelessly devoted to it and have been ever since my first dip. I\u2019ve spent endless afternoons in that meadow in various states of repose: alone with a book, picking at tubs of olives with old friends, bitching about bad dates with new ones. During the few years when I was lucky to live within running distance, I\u2019d often jog there with a bikini underneath my workout clothes only to instantly disrobe on arrival and cool down in the water. It was heaven. That brings me to the pond itself: bracing, intimidatingly deep, and mystically peaceful. You enter the water as one v…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3652"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}