In April, the UK’s high court ruled that the meaning of “sex” refers only to one’s biological sex assigned at birth.
So, in UK anti-discrimination law, “woman” now means “biological woman” and “man” means “biological man” — a reversal of rules in place for 20 years that recognized the gender of trans people “for all purposes.”
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Fitness influencer bans trans women from her upcoming women-only gym
She cited “sexual assault and sexual violence” as reasons to ban trans women.
The court’s decision added chaos to the question of how the government, businesses, and myriad organizations in the UK interact with trans people.
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In the ruling’s aftermath, 28-year-old Evan Wade, a trans man, decided to find out where he fit into the new legal landscape, by asking gyms across the country if he could join.
The answers revealed the turmoil spaces like gyms are now facing following the biology-only decision.
Assigned a female sex at birth, Wade started his transition five years ago and presents as a man with a deep voice and a beard. He’s had chest surgery but no other surgical procedures.
Would you be happy to take my word regarding my genitalia or would you require proof and, if so, how would I go about proving my genitalia?
28-year-old trans man Evan Wade, asking a question to a local women’s gym
He had no desire to go into any women’s facilities and doesn’t want to join any gyms, Wade told The i Paper, with whom he shared his informal survey. Instead, he wanted to know where transgender people like him now fit into those spaces.
So he approached more than 60 venues – mostly women’s gyms – and explained his appearance, sex at birth, chromosomes, and gender identity.
“I was taken aback,” he said.
One gym’s guidance?
“We would have to ask you a personal question on what genitalia you have” due to the “comfort of the ladies, as certain genitalia cannot go into those changing rooms”.
He asked the gym, “Would you be happy to take my word regarding my genitalia or would you require proof and, if so, how would I go about proving my genitalia?”
The gym informed him: “If you are born a female you will have to use the female facilities.”
It was just one of many answers that ran the gamut from slavish adherence to the new law, which the British Medical Association has called “scientifically illiterate” and “biologically nonsensical,” to indignant backlash.
Managers at the gym chain Virgin Active, which has 31 gyms in the UK, said they’re seeking “external legal counsel on the impact of the ruling.” Total Fitness is “awaiting further clarification on how the ruling applies to specific circumstances.”
A small gym in Oxfordshire told Wade, “As a female, you are welcome to join our women-only gym,” while a fitness center in East Sussex told him, “Our membership policy is based on the legal definition of a woman under the Equality Act 2010, which includes individuals who are biologically female. As such, you would be eligible to join.”
But a women’s gym in Cambridgeshire told Wade that “our facilities are exclusively for women. Therefore, given that you identify as a man, we are unable to offer training at our facility.”
Like their potential trans clients, gym owners and operators are suffering amid the confusion.
“From a small business perspective, these kinds of legislations can cause really unhelpful conversations, disagreements, and upset,” said Nancy Best, who runs Ladies Who Crunch, an online fitness club that also holds in-person events.
“The industry hasn’t been sleeplessly worrying about this at all. I just don’t think that women have been creeping into changing rooms panicked that there’s going to be a trans woman there. Politely, they don’t give a f**k,” Best said.
“Imagine being the person that has to go into a changing room and start to remove people,” she added.
For cisgender clients, there are contradictory feelings around a ruling with contradictory implications.
Emily Warner, a 22-year-old who attends women-only classes, said she wouldn’t want trans men in those spaces.
“Even if you believe that a trans man is technically female, as the Supreme Court ruling says, I still think it would make a woman feel uncomfortable getting changed if there was a man in the room,” she said.
“I assume this would feel equally uncomfortable for the trans man,” she added.
But, she said, she’d be happy to share space with trans women: “If someone who presents as a woman, who looks like a woman, who identifies as a woman, were to use female spaces, I think that’s the only thing that makes sense.”
A fitness instructor in Leeds, Melissa Gray, said it “wouldn’t faze” her if a trans person attended her class. “Personally, I wouldn’t have an issue with it. It’s something I feel should be open and a freedom right. It wouldn’t faze me if I came into a class or changing room and there was a transgender man or woman.”
Wade’s main concern was gyms telling him he’d have to use women’s changing rooms because he was born female.
“That really shook me,” he said. “I’m definitely not going in there. If I had to use female facilities, I’m going to be challenged. I’m going to have to explain myself.”
“I don’t mind being asked respectfully,” he said about revealing his gender identity, “but I wouldn’t want to have to wear a trans pin or anything like that.”
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