Town council wants gender-neutral changing rooms for swimming pools
The swimming pools are one of the pillars of Icelandic society. Kópavogur wants to make them more inclusive. Þorvaldur Örn Kristmundsson
Members of the town council of Kópavogur have suggested that the town install gender-neutral changing booths in the three swimming pools that the town operates.
Reykjavik‘s neighbour to the south, Kópavogur is the second largest municipality in Iceland with a population of around 36.000.
The motion to alter the changing rooms was made jointly by representatives of the Pirate Party, the Social Democratic Alliance, and the Reform Party. They point out that in Iceland as in other countries a growing number of children and teenagers identify as transsexual. These young people are required by law to take swimming lessons but are not provided with changing rooms that suit their needs.
Icelandic children start taking swimming lessons at age 5 or 6 as part of the national curriculum for Primary and Middle School – a practice that likely was first intended as a work safety measure back when a large portion of the population made a living as fishermen. By learning how to swim the children can also, as adults, make better use of the many swimming pools that can be found in the Reykjavik area and in most towns and villages.
In their motion the council members point out that swimming is a healthy way to exercise and can help counter some of the health problems that appear to disproportionately affect the transsexual population, such as anxiety and depression.
Swimming pools in Iceland have separate changing rooms for men and women and it is considered normal for members of the same sex to share this space in the nude, and wash in communal showers, before they put on their swimsuits and enter the pool area. Attendants make sure that all visitors respect the rule of showering thoroughly before swimming and will admonish both children and adults alike if they attempt to shower in their swimsuit. Usually posters are to be found in the shower area indicating in multiple languages that visitors wash the groin and armpit areas thoroughly, with soap.
More recently swimming pools have started to offer private changing rooms as an option for those who do not feel comfortable dressing or undressing in front of other people.
