Anne Isabella Coombes, a 67-year-old transgender female swimmer, swam topless with her breasts exposed at the Cornwall County Masters swim meet as a protest to being forced to compete with cisgender men by Swim England, the UKs governing body overseeing the countrys competitive swimming.Swim England told Coombes she was no longer eligible to compete in the womens category, despite her doing so in 2022 and 2023. So the organization placed her in a new open category where trans female and nonbinary competitors swim against cis men. Swim England replaced its mens category with its open category starting in September 2023, to negate post-puberty transgender females[] biological level of performance advantage post-transition, the organization wrote. Related Texas AG investigates US Masters Swimming after trans woman wins 5 first place finishes He claims that allowing trans women to compete violates a state advertising law. It is widely recognised that fairness of competition must be protected and Swim England believes the creation of open and female categories is the best way to achieve this, the organization said upon announcing the new policy. The updated policy ensures there are entry-level competitive opportunities for transgender people to participate in the majority of our disciplines within their gender identity. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today When Coombes asked what shed be required to wear during swim meets in the open category, Swim England informed her that she would need to wear a female swimming costume despite having to compete with the men, which outs me as a woman who is transgender, she told The Reading Chronicle.I explained to the person on the phone that they are not allowed to do that, and he didnt have an answer, she added, saying that the swimsuit requirement compelled her to stop competitively swimming until 2025. She only resumed in order to protest Swim Englands policies, which say that competitors swimwear must be in good moral taste.She said the organization told her that she can swim in a mens swimsuit without having to ask in advance for a referees permission, but that the referee can disqualify her if they choose. Deciding on whether exposing my breasts is in good moral taste or whether I need to cover them up so that those involved in competitive swimming are appropriately safeguarded is an entirely subjective decision of the referee, she told the aforementioned company.In other words, I could turn up to the competition and run the risk of not being able to compete in whichever costume I intend to wear, she continued. No other swimmer has this concern. These regulations also mean that Swim England is treating me as a male by default.The Reading Chronicle didnt say whether the referee disqualified her for her protest. Im trying to show the world that this policy isnt thought through, and its meant to hit trans people and nobody else, she said. I want to make it clear through this protest that trans people are not a threat when it comes to sport. We arent winning everything, and if we started to, then I would be first in line to discuss other options. Right now, it is a non-issue.Numerous competitive sports governing bodies have recently changed their policies to ban trans women from competing against cis women in the name of fairness despite previously having policies that allowed trans athletes using hormone therapy to compete with members of their own gender identity.Critics of these policies say that they mostly harm female athletes who could be subjected to invasive medical investigations in order to prove their gender. Critics also say that these policy changes add to social stigma that vilifies trans female athletes as a threat to womens rights and do nothing to address the sexism, abuse, and lack of funding that actually harm cis female athletes. Coombes said she has been protesting against the recent UK high court ruling that the legal definition of a woman under the countrys 2010 Equality Act is based on biological sex. Though the court has said that trans women still have anti-discrimination protections under the law, the UK Human Rights Commission said in a confusing guidance that trans women can be excluded from women-only spaces in hospitals, shops, and restaurants, and trans men can be excluded from men-only spaces.Coombes has spoken at protests against the ruling and told the aforementioned publication, Most trans people just want to get on with their lives and be treated as the gender they are. But unfortunately, given what the Supreme Court has done, we need to stand up and say Im trans, I exist, and youre not going to silence me. Existence is resistance.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.