Mick Hartley

No, women can't have anything to themselves:

In a case brought by two men against an Edge Fitness Club in Stratford and a Club Fitness in Bloomfield, the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that designating areas of a gym or fitness club for exclusive use by women violates state law barring discrimination based on sex. The justice reasoned that the law could be used to exclude male gym patrons who identify as women, as well as lesbians.

According to two men, a policy allotting workout rooms to be used by women resulted in men having to wait to use workout equipment in the general areas of the fitness centers. The men filed a lawsuit, arguing that the policy of the fitness clubs met the definition of discrimination under a state statute prohibiting a place of public accommodation, resort, or amusement from segregating or separating people based on “race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, age, lawful source of income, intellectual disability, mental disability, physical disability […] or status as a veteran.”

Pointing out that gyms, unlike public swimming pools and beaches, are male-dominated, attorneys for the fitness clubs argued that women-only workout areas at gyms are necessary to keep women comfortable by sparing them from leering eyes or sexual harassment, and marketing women-only areas allows gyms to attract more female patrons. The fitness clubs’ attorneys additionally contended that female-only workout sections are legal exceptions permitted under a relevant Connecticut statute…

Transgender and queer organizations, including the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, Lambda Legal Education and Defense Fund, Inc. and the Connecticut Transadvocacy Coalition argued in briefs that restricting access to certain sections of the gym based on sex could be used to discriminate against “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.” The organizations claimed the argument that women need to be protected from the objectification of ogling men could be used to exclude lesbian women from women-only areas.

This is absurd. How on earth could restricting access to certain sections of the gym based on sex be seen as discrimination against lesbians, gay, or bisexuals? The only people affected would be transwomen – men identifying as women trying to access the women-only areas. It seems that these LGBTQ-whatever groups are now interested solely in the T-for-transgender, and the LGBs can just suck it up. Only the T matters.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Connecticut also supported the men’s side, calling women-only gym areas illegal. 

Absolutely no surprise there, as the ACLU is now a staunch partisan in the trans debate under the dubious guidance of transman Chase Strangio.

A lawyer for Club Fitness said the court’s ruling was disappointing.

“We listened to our members and fought this case on principle, and we believe in fighting for women’s rights,” Edge Fitness Clubs said in a statement following the ruling. “At The Edge Fitness Clubs, we are committed to keeping our gyms a safe and stress-free place for women to work out.“ 

Fighting for women's rights is so yesterday.