Day: May 30, 2017

Sam Bowles checks out the new trans evening at the Brighton Sauna in central Brighton.

I was very excited when I found out that there was going to be a trans-inclusive night at Brighton Sauna, for many reasons: I haven’t been to a sauna for about 10 years, and that was at a gym on the outskirts of Brighton.

Second of all, I knew that I was finally going to meet Jak (one of the staff), whom several of my friends had raved about. But most importantly, it was a night meant for people like me.

My partner and I had to arm ourselves with knowledge from friends who had been to similar places, about what to expect as well as etiquette. It took a few weeks to build this up and even then on the day I was still a little nervous that I would end up not behaving in the right way.

It turns out that I needn’t have worried. It was an incredibly relaxed atmosphere from the beginning. Having now been to both trans nights that have happened so far, James, on reception recognised me the second time and struck up a chat.

He gave me the right information about lockers explained about the tab you can set up, provided me with a towel and then let me through. 

By the second visit, of course, I knew how to navigate around the building. The food bar, lounge area and computers are on the ground floor, as well as some private rooms and a dark room with a stand-up sun bed. I utilised the latter on my second visit, and as I had never used one before, James explained everything to me and made it easy to understand. Downstairs, you will find the majority of the private rooms, as well as a changing room, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, as well as access to a smoking area.

From what I could see, everything was incredibly well-maintained in terms of cleanliness. I did also spot some signs around the premises that gave guidelines on etiquette, particularly surrounding pronouns; as well as consent. I’m unsure if those signs are shown away from the trans night, but I appreciate how we are expected to be treated with respect. It had also been arranged that trans-friendly porn was being shown around the premises. I was very happy with the level of detail, and effort, that Jak went through in order to ensure this night could be run successfully, and to get it running in the first place.

Once I realised how relaxed the atmosphere was, I was completely at ease in being in the state of undress that generally happens here. I am generally quite comfortable with being naked, but I hadn’t been naked around these particular friends before, and I do sometimes have some dysphoria to contend with. I was quite happy being mostly naked and it didn’t cross my mind throughout most of the night. It was such a good feeling to be able to have a laugh and talk about things that people in a similar situation to me would be able to understand. On my second visit, I brought a friend instead of my partner, and they were so excited to be able to freely be in a queer space in such a relaxed setting.

On both of my visits so far, I have utilised the jacuzzi quite a lot! I’ve had back problems recently and I found the jacuzzi to really help to relieve some of the tension, so the sauna has physical benefits for me as well as mental. As mentioned before, with it being a long time since I’d been in such an environment, there’s still a great feeling of novelty and excitement for me when I use the jacuzzi.

Overall, I am incredibly pleased with the experiences I’ve had at these sauna nights, and I will most definitely be attending as many as possible. My only concern at the moment is the entry price, but that is purely down to personal circumstances. I personally would absolutely recommend it to trans folk as well as their SOFFAs (significant others, friends, family and allies)!

A spokesperson for Brighton Sauna, said: “You must be trans to enter (that includes all trans identies) or the guest of a trans person. If someone is a cis guest, they must arrive with whoever they’re coming with unless we get a heads up beforehand. We do allow SOFFAs as some folks may have a cis partner, friend or support person that they wish to enjoy the night with. We have a safer space policy which must be adhered to which we have dotted about the building and we ask everyone to make themselves familiar with it upon entry. Anyone breaking that policy will be asked to leave.

The Trans Sauna evening is on the fourth Monday of each month from 6pm-1am. The next event will be on Monday, June 26. Entry is £15 for a standard entry or £16 for the day pass.