It’s easy to write off Planet Fitness. The purple decor, the “lunk alarm”—it can all seem a little silly. But last week the famously “judgment-free zone” stepped up to the plate and booted a Michigan patron for repeatedly demanding that gym management ban a transgender woman from the women’s locker room.
“I was blocked, because a man was standing there,” Cormier told MLive of her experience in the Planet Fitness locker room. “It freaked me out because, why is a man in here?”
Not only was Ms. Cormier consciously misgendering the women, which is an act of violence, she wouldn’t let it go when the front desk manager explained to her that the patron identifies as a woman and the gym would therefore respect her identity and saw no problem with her using the women’s locker room.
Ms. Cormier then went on to refute the claim with corporate, who sided with the front desk manager’s original call. When that wasn’t enough, she went back to the gym the following week and complained about the trans woman and Planet Fitness management to everyone within earshot. The company caught wind of her hate speech, and laid down the law.
A statement from the gym read:
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 canceled.
Bravo, P-Fit. I’ll never judge your lunk alarm again.
