Unsuspecting Female Gym-Goer Found Out About Transgender Locker Room Policy Too Late
A female gym-goer contacted Turning Point USA (TPUSA) explaining an incident in which she was confronted by a transgender-identifying individual in the women’s locker room at her local Planet Fitness, prompting her to cancel her membership.
Unsurprisingly, this isn’t the first time the gym chain has experienced this very legitimate complaint. Years ago, Planet Fitness found itself engulfed in legal controversy after a female gym-goer in Michigan found herself sharing a locker room with a transgender-identifying individual and biological male, resulting in a lawsuit against the nationwide fitness chain for breach of privacy.
The woman alleged that the gym “misrepresented the terms of its contract by not disclosing its pro-transgender policy to her and other members,” according to Metro Weekly. “She also claimed the gym’s policy was a form of sexual harassment, alleging invasion of privacy, embarrassment, humiliation and severe emotional distress, and damage to her reputation.”
After several years of litigation that went from a trial court to a Michigan Court of Appeals, to the state Supreme Court, and back to the Appeals Court, and extensive media coverage from 2015 to 2019, some gym-goers still aren’t being made aware of Planet Fitness’ now public transgender policy. The policy was published on the gym’s website since legal battles broke out regarding the company’s lack of transparency, however, when Planet Fitness was contacted by TPUSA regarding whether or not the policy is written in the contract members sign upon joining the gym, the fitness chain did not provide a response.
The New Hampshire woman who contacted TPUSA and asked to remain anonymous said she was startled when she heard a male voice coming from the shower in the female locker room at her local Planet Fitness. “I said, ‘Um, is there a man in here?’ And with the deepest voice you’d ever hear, he [replied], ‘No,'” she told TPUSA in an email describing the incident. “I just froze.”
“I’m transgender. You got a problem with that?” he asked, to which she firmly responded, “Yes.”
She informed the employee at the front desk that the man’s presence in the female locker room made her uncomfortable, but said that the employee told her, “It’s a judgment-free zone.”
Planet Fitness currently displays its rules regarding transgender-identifying individuals and gendered facility use on its website beneath the anti-discrimination policy. It reads, “All members will have access to restroom and locker room facilities that correspond to their sincerely held, self-reported gender identity to the extent permitted by applicable law.”
“When I signed on with Planet Fitness years ago, they never, ever mentioned the possibility of men in the women’s locker room,’ she told TPUSA. “Had they said anything remotely close to that, I would have immediately dropped my pen and contract.” The New Hampshire resident called the policy “severely inappropriate and unsafe.”
This unfortunate incident has played out several times around the country and has posed a threat to women’s safety in spaces that are traditionally female-exclusive. Young girls in school are made vulnerable and often become victims of sexual harassment or physical injury due to “unisex” or “trans-inclusive” restroom and locker room policies being implemented.
