Hello ladies! I'm FTM, so I probably don't belong here, but I would like to ask all of you a question.
As many of you know, a woman lost her gym membership after she complained to management about a man entering the women's locker room. Many sources state that this person was just a man: bearded, masculine, etc. claiming he is a trans woman just to play Peeping Tom. The woman lost her membership simply because she was shocked and uncomfortable with the situation.
I personally disagree with PF's logic, of letting anyone use any restroom and locker room in their facilities. They say that even if a regular man claims he is a woman, he can use the women's locker room, showers, etc. in front of other women. Facebook is applauding them...saying how there is no such thing as the gender binary system, everyone should do everything together, and hooray for Planet Fitness... honestly, I cannot disagree more. This is a violation of privacy.
I asked my trans girl friends whether they would ever enter a women's locker room pre-hormones, pre-surgery...they said never, unless they were fully confident that they passed, and went with a nice group of girls to feel personal safety. I agree; I don't think any trans woman would put herself into a dangerous situation like this, knowing that she does not pass. Neither would trans men. I feared public locker rooms and restrooms until 1.5-2 years on testosterone, where I was certain no one would bat an eye.
What do you girls say? Locker rooms are based on sex, not gender. That is why we trans folk take hormones...to change our secondary sexual characteristics (and SRS for our primary). Women naturally feel comfortable with other women, since they have the same body. After transition, our sex matches our gender. As a trans man, I would never pull my underwear down in a locker room (even though I pass everywhere else) knowing that people would freak out, feel uncomfortable, and other stuff.
I hope I don't sound too critical, but I thought about both sides in this situation. I think if I, 3 years ago, would enter the men's locker room as a female, the gym would have full rights to either warn me or revoke my membership. It is an invasion of privacy for the other men.