I have been on HRT for three years now, so when people look at me, they see a man’s face,” says Riyam Jain, a trans man whose full beard is an inspiration for the small but tight-knit community. “But when I’d step out of the pool, I could feel people’s eyes drift to my lower half, and if there was no bulge, the stares and whispers would begin,” he explains.

For most people, going for a swim at the beach or pool is just about the joy of being in water. They don’t think twice about whether people will stare at them, pass comments, or assault them. For a trans person, these worries are all-consuming. Just putting on a bathing suit can bring on crippling gender dysphoria, as swimwear tends to accentuate the very body parts that feel alien to them.