Ask Matt: Reaching the Trans Community for Physical Fitness

[Shana A]

Ask Matt: Reaching the Trans Community for Physical Fitness

November 12, 2012 by Matt Kailey

http://tranifesto.com/2012/11/12/ask-matt-reaching-the-trans-community-for-physical-fitness/

A reader writes: "I am a personal trainer and group exercise instructor in Palm Springs, CA. I may be a bit naive, but I have a feeling that the transgender community may be underserved and unnoticed when it comes to physical fitness and mainstream gyms. As my clientele is varied, my intention is to embrace and share all things fitness and 'gym life' and evolve into a better trainer and person in doing so.

"Can you suggest effective methods to reach out to the transgender community, while also being sensitive and respecting privacy and security issues. I have a lot to learn and am eager and ready to do so! Thank you for any help you may offer."

When I first began my transition, my therapist told me to spend time in "men's spaces," including men's locker rooms. At the time, I was very uncomfortable with this notion, and I didn't do it. Maybe I was insecure about my body compared to the other guys' bodies that I would see there, maybe I was nervous about communal shower space, or maybe it was just an excuse for not working out, but somehow I felt like I wouldn't "belong" there.

[Apples Mk.II]

I wonder what will I do with the gym when the changes start being noticeable. Guy's area has no individual locked showers (girls have them), so I won't be able to shower there. I'd have to use the shower at work, but that will mean losing a lot of exercise time...

I don't like the future.

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Transgender Woman Attacked At Gym
marti.abernathey

http://www.transadvocate.com/transgender-woman-attacked-at-gym.htm

From Facebook and my friend María Lapachet:

    "At the beginning of last month a woman was assaulted in a private gym in Gijon, Spain. She was taking a shower when a man kicked the door open, almost knocking her out. She was dragged out, thrown to the floor, kicked and verbally assaulted by a group of men who told her their attack was just a warning. No one came to her aid. She managed to escape, get half dressed, and leave the men's room. At the reception area, the gym's staff members just gave her a tissue so that she could wipe some blood off. No one called the cops or an ambulance for her' no one offered any other type of help.

    This is not the first aggression against this woman. In my opinion the first offense was asking her to use the men's room. You may be wondering where the catch is. Seems a little weird to make a woman use a men's room, right? Well, this woman is a male to female transsexual. Her appearance is feminine, but she still has the name she was born with (masculine) on her license. Basing their decision on this technicality, the gym's management team decided to make her use the men's room without providing any type of protection or help to prevent an attack.