Non Binary Gym Changing Rooms

[NevermindNelson]

I’ve just had an email from a gym I use explaining that their changing rooms are going to become gender neutral. I don’t even know where to start to reply. The email states that they’re proud to do this.

I want to reply with the reasons that I’m cancelling my membership, but all I’ve got so far is, “What, seriously?”

Maybe I should just send this - Just under 90 per cent of complaints regarding changing room sexual assaults, voyeurism and harassment are about incidents in unisex facilities. Because they have made the changing rooms unisex, haven’t they?

Edited to correct the term as ‘gender neutral’

Perhaps it all got too hard and the CEO knows that there is nothing they can say that will justify this really. But that they will continue because someone told them that this is the inclusive option.

As many have said, but most recently Lynne Pinches in an interview about her pool competition, how is it 'inclusive' if women are now 'self excluding' because of these decisions? To me, it really is becoming evident that those using that term 'inclusion' mean 'some women have to go without to make some male people feel good'.

I think I now know why I wasn’t ever going to get a call. Industry insights: The way forward

Gender neutral (ie unisex) open changing rooms. FFS how could any gym think that's acceptable? Trendy class or not.

At least you have closure.

That article was a wild ride. They did define sex and gender accurately strangely enough, and this quote made be laugh :

"• Globally, 25 per cent of Gen Zers expect to change their gender identity at least once during their lifetime." Really ??

Also, I can't help thinking what do POC think about being dragged into all of this ? The person interviewed acts like non-white people = non-cis which seems odd. Even gay/bi doesn't have much to do with transgender if you really think about it.

I just love the utter indulgent wankery of people being 'authentic about their gender' and expressing their inner selves, while excluding people with actual access issues from normal daily life.

That article is utter bollocks.

And then I counted 16 photos of/articles by/profiles of ' Fittech' men after it. How many women? One. Just one.

I feel so angry on your behalf OP. The gym clearly doesn't care about women. I completely understand that you may not want to go public but bloody hell does it deserve to be named and shamed.

'The Way Forward' my arse.

The way to bankruptcy, more like.

The CEO was interviewed - the one who, in an email to me from an operations person, ‘would like to discuss the matter further over a phone call.’ No communication from them since Nov 22nd, so I have to make my own conclusion on how true that statement is.

Queer people need a bit of extra time, patience and kindness. They might not know how to enter the gym, or the class, or how to lift the weights and lots of them are scared to go into these white, CIS, heterotypical male spaces.

So much nonsense. Why might a ‘queer’ person be any more confused than anyone else about ‘how to enter the gym’? I spend a lot of time in gyms and fitness studios as they are my workplaces. When I face a class or a client, I generally have no idea if they’re ‘queer’ or gay or trans or NB unless they tell me (I might of course guess someone is trans if they are clearly one sex and trying to present as the other).

I treat them exactly the same way as I would any other client. I’m interested in helping them with their fitness- their personal beliefs about their identity don’t come into it, and nor do they prevent the person using the facilities. Do I refer to a group as ‘guys’? I probably do sometimes- including when there are women in the group. No one has complained yet. 🤷

As for certain gym spaces being dominated by males- yes, this has always been the case and is something often mentioned by women who want to lift weights. Making weights rooms more accessible/less intimidating is a decent aim and would benefit lots of people.

I can’t see how a ‘queer’ person needs to be treated any differently from anyone else. Seems all of this is just about people who want to use the changing room provided for the opposite sex.

(I have put ‘queer’ in inverted commas because I think it’s a ludicrous term that includes so many different definitions as to have become meaningless).

From that article OP

“Personal trainers and instructors unlearn their biases by incorporating NDY’s ethos. Sites also agree to convert changing room signage to gender neutral for the duration of the NDY’s booking. Blok has been one of the first operators to get on board and is working towards building a fully-inclusive community.”

“Fitness brands need to reimagine how gender appears across the whole company, from market research to survey forms, customer experience, the products on sale and programming”

Rather interesting thinking here. On one hand, telling gyms to find out what users needs are, but then declaring that female people’s needs of single sex spaces be ignored to prioritise others for ‘inclusivity’.

All while lecturing authoritarian like that professionals ‘unlearn biases’. Wouldn’t that be dangerous? If a personal trainer accepted that a female person has ‘changed sex’ and trained them as they would a male person, that would heavily increase that client’s risk of injury.

Queer people need a bit of extra time, patience and kindness. They might not know how to enter the gym, or the class, or how to lift the weights and lots of them are scared to go into these white, CIS, heterotypical male spaces.

What utter bollocks. I didn’t know any of that either so I booked an induction, watched videos and signed up with a personal trainer. And I’m a 4ft11 woman.

@Waitingfordoggo I agree, I’ve seen more middle-aged women looking nervous at the doors of a gym than any other demographic.

Also, I’m interested to know what useful information could be gained if a female-identifying individual was measured using female skin fold data tables, or a male-identifying individual was observed using VO2 max tables for males, because that one feels dangerous.

@Helleofabore Exactly, see my post above, I think there’s a big risk here.

Absolutely @NevermindNelson. I’ve yet to perform fitness tests on a man who identifies as a woman, but of course he would need to be measured against the male standards if he wanted the results to be meaningful in any way.

@EmpressaurusOfCats Yes, swap the word ‘woman’ in and I think it could adequately describe some women’s experiences of going to the gym for the first time.

This has been on mind for years now - women are in danger of being measured against men’s metrics. It isn’t a huge problem for men, the measurements would be useless but not physically dangerous. How is this solved, has anyone discussed it?

The enraging thing is that I bet the gym isn't a 'true believer' in all the gender ideology bollocks either. It's just the latest marketing bandwagon passing by. With women thrown under the wheels.

Queer people eh.

Almost every gay man I know has a gym honed physique. They are using a uselessly broad term.

I treat them exactly the same way as I would any other client.

Well, that's your first mistake, Waitingfordoggo

Yep, so 75% of Gen Zers don't expect to change their gender identity.

I'm a gym - who should I cater for? The 25% or the 75%?

This has been on mind for years now - women are in danger of being measured against men’s metrics. It isn’t a huge problem for men, the measurements would be useless but not physically dangerous. How is this solved, has anyone discussed it?

Forgive the momentary derail but in the week where there’s been a lot in the news about brain damage caused to men who play rugby (you know, the sport where even now, despite everything, there’s pressure to let men play with women because of hurty feelz), you have to despair that people in the sports world are STILL peddling the utter bollocks that biological sex isn’t important and that there’s no difference between men and women.

Link to BBC story

Sorry! - back to the matter in hand but that just leapt out at me reading the news this week.

Well, if the CEO didn't have the balls to contact me, I'd be contacting him. And putting my questions to him directly.

Let's hear him explain how he can ensure my safety, dignity and privacy in a tiny mixed sex space with an open changing area and no cubicles.

I'd be asking questions about his insurance cover and legal advice. I don't suppose he cares about the lost fees of one or even a few women who cancel their membership but the financial and legal exposure this change in policy brings should focus his mind.

Bottom line, innit.

Re rugby.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-67554363

‘Research in women’s game lacking’ - gosh, what a surprise 🙄

If the CEO is who I think it is then he started out in marketing. And has a very privileged family background. I don't suppose he has to worry about his female family members having to get undressed in confined spaces with random guys if they want to do a gym class.