Women who love women are not predators.

Men who hate women are.

Lesbians are women, TIMs are not. Where should lesbians go then? Do we get our very own toilets and changing rooms? If so, bring it on because they would always be empty. As long as no male/transbian is EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES allowed in lesbian spaces. And how are you going to tell who is a lesbian? Is there a DNA test for homosexuality like there is for sex? Can you clock a lesbian as easy as you can clock a TIM? I fear many heterosexual women would end up being thrown out with the lesbians. Can we get our own toilets then for GNC women? Also, how many lesbians have raped women vs. how many males and TIMs have raped women? How many lesbians have filmed women vs. how many males have filmed women without their consent? Show me the statistcs of lesbian predators and I'll show you the statistics of male (including trans males) predators. Women, including lesbian women, are not men and do not offend at the same rate as men do, especially when it comes to sexual offenses. TiMs offend at the same rate as other men. In fact, prison statistics suggest that TIMs are even more likely to be sex offenders than other men.

Well for starters, as a fellow lesbian, I usually acknowledge the responsibility that comes with being sexually attracted to women. Almost every lesbian I've known IRL and I have had one-on-one conversations about the discomfort we feel in women's spaces where partial nudity is expected. There's a joke I've heard, that you can always tell the lesbians in the locker room because their eyes are either on the floor or on the ceiling.

But also, the data shows that women -- lesbian or not -- are orders of magnitude less likely to commit violent or sexual crime. So... I guess it's just not a compelling argument to me. Transwomen continue to demonstrate male-pattern levels of violence post-transition, which tells me everything I need to know.

Except lesbians are not predators, or men.

It's very simply about the different offending rates of men versus women. MEN, no matter how they identify, commit 98% of the sexual assaults and Women are the victims 88% of the time.

That's a false argument you've encountered. It's total bullshit. Lesbians do not offend at the rate of men. Further, men have been studied post transition and their rates of criminality do NOT decrease post transition.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016885

while I'm a lesbian, I'm a woman first.

In my experience there is a certain comradery and trust felt among women regardless of sexual orientation, probably helped by their lived experience since birth and the fact that all women are conscious of the overwhelming majority of threats coming from men. That's what makes woman only spaces so special as pockets of saftey and respect in otherwise vulnerable situations.

I'd be curious to hear from straight women about how they feel about lesbians in the locker room. Personally I've always experienced woman-only spaces as spaces of solidarity and respect, not spaces to exert 'lesbian priviledge' to get your rocks off. In the back of my mind I can see some TIMs making the same type of argument though so I have a difficult time justifying it

Some others have already made the bulk majority of the points, but here's another one for if they back you into a corner with "well what if its a nice transwoman who only wants to change and not be a perv!!"

When a TIM undresses in a female changing room or sauna or whatever, that means exposing all the women in girls in that room to a penis. Even if its a friendly penis with no intent to rape, a penis in itself is a threat and is traumatizing to see in an all-female space.

A lesbian undresses and... she's just a woman. There's no threat there.

and plus: males have the superior size and physical strength necessary to hold down and assault women, as evidenced by the fact that men do this all the time. Only the strongest 10% of women are stronger than the weakest 10% of men. That's not good odds, for a woman.

If a woman decides to attack another woman in the changing room: it's not as easy to predict who would be the victor here.

I would have a fighting chance, at least, against another woman. Against a man? Well, I'm not in the top 10% of strength for women, so, that's it for me.

I've heard this too and I told the person she was being extremely homophobic and she didn't see it at all. I kept repeating women are not men and that's the end of the discussion but she didn't accept this answer. I'm like what more can I say? You're comparing a lesbian woman to a fucking man. This is homophobic to the nth degree. But they really think these kinds of arguments are okay. And also what about gay men? Gay men don't belong in women's prisons either just because they're not attracted to women. This is such a miserable mind-fuck and dealing with these people is impossible.

The homophobia is off the charts. We aren't men, we don't follow in the footsteps of male sexual entitlement, or criminality when it comes to sexual assault. It has nothing to do with sexual orientation per se and everything to do with male behaviour socialised or otherwise.

I am a lesbian too and speaking for myself female spaces are also a respite for me not to simply relieve myself, but get away from men. Our behaviour is nothing like theirs. We know the space is ours and other women's and we respect it and the women in there. Men wishing to gain entry have nothing but contempt and disrespect for female only spaces - if they didn't they would never want in.

It's completely disingenuous to compare us with men. Homophobia pure and simple.

Lesbians don't prey on other women. This is an insulting myth.

Sexual assault went up when Tim's got more access. A former all girls school use to have 1% sexual assault. Now they are at 5% after taking tims

They use exceptions to the rule all the time. They know that lesbians don't attack women in bathrooms and locker rooms, although it's not an impossibility. I usually just say that 98% of sexual crimes are committed by men.

It hurts me so much. I don't think of or objectify women like men do, I see them as fully human, not as my prey. I don't want anything to do with men, let alone to behave like them.

God I truly hate them.