Over the past two weeks, America’s most popular gym franchise’s stock dropped by $400 million. To find the primary cause, look no further than its locker room policies.
On March 12, Patricia Silva entered the women’s locker room at a Planet Fitness location in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she was shocked to find a self-identified “queer” man shaving within arm’s length of a young girl. Silva, astonished, confronted the man, took a picture of him, and recorded a video of herself recounting the experience in the parking lot.
In the video, Silva voiced her concerns, stating, “There is a man shaving in the woman’s bathroom… I’m not comfortable with him… in my bathroom.”
However, Planet Fitness’ reaction wasn’t to address the presence of the man in question. Instead, the gym opted to cancel Silva’s membership, citing her violation of its cell phone policy, which prohibits photography in locker rooms. Additionally, the gym appointed a staff member to assist the man in accessing the women’s locker room.
Planet Fitness defended its actions by citing its “gender identity non-discrimination policy”, which allows members to use facilities aligning with their self-reported gender identity, stating that while some people “may feel uncomfortable with a transgender member using the same locker room facilities, bathrooms, showers or other facilities separated by sex…This discomfort is not a reason to deny access to the transgender member.”
Paula Scanlan, a speaker for the Clare Boothe Luce Center and a former teammate of Lia Thomas, a transgender athlete who competed for the University of Pennsylvania swim team, understands firsthand the discomfort and risks associated with sharing a locker room with a male. Scanlan was forced to change in front of Thomas, a biological male, in the women’s locker room an average of 18 times per week.
When asked to comment on this topic she said, “Planet Fitness is just another organization choosing to protect the feelings and identity of a man over women… Women should be allowed to express their feelings, and we should be allowed to have our own private spaces free from males.” Furthermore, on Twitter she provided more commentary on the experience of sharing private spaces with men by saying, “I was sexually assaulted as a teenager and being forced to change daily in a locker room with a male was traumatic, violating, and extremely uncomfortable.”
At past speaking events, Scanlan previously recounted numerous occasions where her female teammates had to opt for changing in family stalls or janitor closets to safeguard their privacy, all because of Thomas’ decision to utilize the women’s locker room.
This is the same position that Planet Fitness forces upon women. They are forcing women to forfeit their safety and privacy or change elsewhere; going to extreme lengths to accommodate biological males. They have chosen to prioritize the “sincere, self-reported gender identity” of men over the “sincere” safety of women. With this unethical arrangement of priorities, boycotting Planet Fitness may be the best way to repudiate their treatment of women.