A
Planet Fitness facility in Michigan kicked a woman out after
she wouldn’t stop talking (to everyone) about a trans member in the locker room. Good job.
Yvette
Cormier told mlive.com that while attempting to enter the women’s locker room
on Saturday, Feb. 28, she was halted by someone standing in the way. “It freaked
me out because, why is a man in here?” she added. She approached an employee about the incident, and the front desk staff let her know that the person in question identifies as a woman.
Unsatisfied
with the answer she received from her gym, Cormier then contacted
the company’s corporate office. And, the gym fired back in the best way possible:
No, they weren’t going to ostracize the individual from the women’s locker
room, as their members are free to use whichever locker room corresponds to their sincere
self-reported gender identity, Planet Fitness public relations director, McCall
Gosselin, said in a statement.
The
next week, Cormier went back to the gym. Instead of getting her sweat on
and getting out, however, she decided to let others know about what she’d seen
in the locker room.
We’re
not sure what she hoped would come of doing this, but Planet Fitness’
corporate offices called her on it, literally. If she wasn’t willing to stop
talking about the trans member in the locker room, then she would no longer be welcome at the
gym, as it's a judgement-free zone.
Here’s
McCall’s full statement on the matter:
"Planet Fitness is committed
to creating a non-intimidating, welcoming environment for our members. Our
gender identity non-discrimination policy states that members and guests may
use all gym facilities based on their sincere self-reported gender identity. The manner in which this
member expressed her concerns about the policy exhibited behavior that
management at the Midland club deemed inappropriate and disruptive to other
members, which is a violation of the membership agreement and as a result her
membership was cancelled."
Locker rooms can be
pretty uncomfortable for some as it is — hello, you know you keep your eyes
down, too — there’s no need to make it worse. There are certainly plenty of
private areas to change, and bathrooms do have doors. Why not strike up a conversation with the person? Educate yourself on what you don't know. There are plenty of misconceptions out there about trans individuals, there's no need to perpetuate them.
Want to read more stories about the lives and rights of transgender Americans? Check out our full Trans America series here.