There are no men's or women's change rooms at this public pool in East Vancouver. Instead, for tonight anyway, one is marked as the blueberry change room. The other, raspberry.

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Inside, the pool is resplendent with the joy of uninhibited aquatic pleasure.

A person in a black knee-length dress, hot pink leggings and black socks kersplooshes off the slide into the water. Some athletic types swim laps before joining their friends in the hot tub, which is packed. There, a few people with recent scars from breast removal surgery (also called top surgery) discuss wait times and surgeons.

Meanwhile, some people who present as male when clothed have forgone covering or binding their breasts for the night and roam topless. Some large-bodied folks make their way to the sauna, a few displaying a swath of tattoos across their flesh. A couple of scrawny, bearded friends in shorts toss a ball back and forth.

The mood is jubilant, social and, most importantly, accepting. No one does a double take. No one yells at or harms anyone for being in the wrong change room. No one is shamed into leaving.

This event is called the All Bodies Swim. It's organized for anyone who feels uncomfortable in a bathing suit at a public pool. This includes people who are transgendered, gender variant, fat, tattooed, queer, or any other variation that doesn't fit into social expectations.

Everyone is welcome to attend, as long as they're respectful. Here, there is no such thing as a "normal" body.

Providing an open and safe space

The first official All Bodies Swim was organized in 2010 during a transgender forum in Vancouver. The swims happen every six weeks and typically have between 50 to 80 participants. People come from across the Lower Mainland to attend.

According to Theodore Jakob, one of the swim's organizers, one of the goals of the All Bodies Swim is to provide a safe and inviting environment.

"A lot of folks who come to the swim don't feel like they're able to access public spaces without feeling mocked or unsafe," says Jakob. For many, the All Body Swim is their only opportunity to access what is meant to be a public facility for all.

One of the most important aspects of the swim are the gender-neutral change rooms – a source of anxiety and frustration for people who don't conform physically or emotionally to what they consider to be a simplistic binary construct.

Besides the change rooms, organizers also make the space safe by posting volunteers at the door in case anyone wanders in unaware of what the event is about. Although all are welcome, volunteers want to ensure that everyone who attends is tolerant.

They also block off the pool's windows from outside view, ensure pool staff and lifeguards are trained to understand the needs of participants, and provide community information and resources.

"It's just a really positive opportunity for anyone who's interested in exploring space where there's a lot less shame and (body) policing," says Jakob.

'It's just about swimming'

Ray (last name omitted for privacy) has been to the swim about three times and describes it as "amazing."

"It doesn't matter what your body looks like or how your body acts. It's just about going there and swimming," says Ray.

Ray presents as male but hasn't had top surgery and, like many trans men, doesn't intend to get genital reassignment surgery. Ray has tried swimming with a breast binder, which looks like a spandex undershirt, but it was uncomfortable. And the open configuration in the men's change rooms meant showering wasn't a possibility.

The first time Ray went to an All Bodies Swim, they were really excited because they didn't have to bind their chest (like many trans people, Ray prefers to be referred to by the gender-neutral pronoun they instead of he or she).

LISTEN TO THIS: Some 'All Bodies' swimmers discuss the challenge of change rooms. Listen here.

When Ray emerged from the gender-neutral change rooms at the swim with trunks and no top, they kept a towel around their shoulders to cover their breasts and quickly slipped into the water. But then Ray saw other trans men swimming bare-chested and relaxed. They shot some hoops in the pool, swung off the ropes, and played around like they were a kid again.

"It was a really comfortable experience... I hadn't been in a pool and played around like that in a really long time."

Ray knows trans people who go to the pools during regular swim hours, but they have to be prepared to defend themselves and have a thick skin. They usually go as a group to feel safer. Ray generally prefers the comfort of the All Body Swim.

"It is nice to have an alternative if you don't feel comfortable at a normal pool."

Spreading the ‘all bodies' model across the city

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation has heard these concerns from the LGBTQ community.

"We identified there were shortcomings in our offerings for trans and gender-variant people," says board commissioner Trevor Loke, who is also the Parks Board liaison on the City of Vancouver's LGBTQ advisory committee.

To help address these shortcomings, this May the Park Board created the Trans and Gender Variant Working Group. Its first task is to report on how public facilities like pools and parks can be more inclusive. The key aspects they're focusing on are programming, staff training, partnerships, signage, and how to handle washrooms.

Loke calls the All Bodies Swim "a huge success" and says the Parks Board is looking to incorporate its principles into its programming.

"Public spaces are probably the thing we talk about the most," says Loke. That means questioning whether or not facilities like change rooms need to be gender segregated.

In the gender-neutral mecca that is Sweden, for instance, some public washrooms are getting gender designations flushed down the toilet.

Although some Vancouver pools like the new Hillcrest Aquatic Centre do have gender-neutral facilities like family change rooms, trans and gender-variant people are sometimes steered or shamed away from them because they're not with children.

So far the idea of gender-neutral facilities has garnered lots of support, but the idea isn't without controversy. Loke says some feminist communities have expressed concerns about safety for women and children.

The working group's report is scheduled for April 2014. Ultimately, the Parks Board is trying to find a solution that will make their facilities places that everyone can feel comfortable using.

Closing Time

As the All Bodies Swim wraps up for the night, people slowly shuffle out of the change rooms with wet hair and bags slung across their shoulders.

Most dawdle in the hallway, chatting with friends old and new. A person with long dreads wearing beige coveralls picks through the snacks set out on the counter. A tall, slim volunteer in tight jeans and pointy dress shoes hands out cards with dates of the next swims.

The lifeguards start to turn off the lights in the pool. At the end of the hallway, someone takes down the blueberries and raspberries from the change room doors.