Sharing a locker room with a transgender

A woman in Michigan had her gym membership canceled because she refused to stop telling other gym patrons that a man was using the women's locker room.

Full story here: http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/relationships/planet-fitness-cancels-womans-membership-after-she-reports-transgender-woman-in-locker-room/ar-AA9uYW9

What are your thoughts if you're a woman in a female locker room and a transgender individual starts changing and their "junk" falls out?

What are your thoughts if you're a man in a male locker room and a transgender individual starts changing and her "downstairs" is there to see?

(Not that any of us are trying to peek anyway, but you get my point.)

I've always been one to say that if you have male parts, use the male locker room (even if you identify as a female) and if you have female parts use the female locker room (even if you identify as a male). If you've had sexual reconstruction and no longer have the male parts, feel free to use the female locker room and vice versa.

Thoughts?

I can't begin to understand what it must be like for someone transgender, trying to fit in. You're trying to live as one gender, but your body is another.

If gyms actually had private changing rooms, I don't think any of this would be a problem, because no transgender person would need to feel like they're exposing themselves, and those who aren't comfortable with it don't have to know.

What confuses me is whether these kinds of issues are about simply not wanting to see the body of the opposite sex, or about not wanting to feel as though someone might be looking at your body in a sexual manner.

I always assume it's more the latter (because...what exactly is so offensive about catching a glimpse of someone else's genitals?), but then changing rooms would need to be organized by sexual orientation, not gender.

Every time I'm in the changing rooms at the gym I always find it kind of amusing when other women are quite happy to strip naked in front of me as it doesn't even seem to cross their minds that another woman might find them attractive. Not that I do look, but that's besides the point really. I could if I wanted to, and I'm sure plenty do. :laugh:

I don't really have strong feelings about how changing rooms ought to operate. It's a bit of a political-correctness minefield.

In this particular case I'm just unsure as to why the woman who complained was so disturbed about it. Personally, it wouldn't bother me if it happened at my gym.

Let's get a few damp laundry items aired out before they get moldy, shall we?

This move by Planet Fitness is an unprecedented victory for transgender people, in particular transgender women who stand the greatest risk of violence in such places as bathrooms and locker rooms. My biggest regret is that there is not a Planet Fitness near me.

If a person is in a woman's locker room and her "junk" falls out it means a woman's junk fell out. Your error is to assume that biology or physiology = gender. The truth is the far from that conclusion. Likewise, a person in a men's locker room who, it is revealed while changing, has a vulva is still a man. The reduction of a human being to their plumbing is one of the most egregious lies perpetuated in modern times. In tribal communities where exposure to outside ideas and conceptual frameworks was rare, I could understand this kind of ignorance, but we have so much in the way of information gathering resources available to us; the lack of understanding is disgusting.

A transgender person should never have to undergo a surgery to prove the legitimacy of their identity. If we follow that logic to its conclusion, we'd have to start requiring loyalty tattoos on all Americans. The fact is, many transgender people don't want to change the configuration of their plumbing and that's fine, it's nobody's business but their own. I really don't understand why people presume that it's any of their business to know what another person's plumbing is. It's not okay to go up to boss, co-worker, or the person flipping your burger at McDonald's and ask what their plumbing configuration is, so what right do you think you have ask that of anyone else?

And you know what's most disturbing about all this? The accusations of what a transgender person might do to someone in a bathroom or locker room are unsubstantiated, but guess what is substantiated? Violence against transgender people who are perceived to be using the "wrong bathroom", or in some cases a trans woman who is perceived to be an effeminate man is perceived to be gay and receives verbal and/or physical assault.

V-Tog wrote: but then changing rooms would need to be organized by sexual orientation, not gender.

I'd be screwed because I'm attracted to every variety of person regardless of gender. :lol:

Jamie Stick wrote: If a person is in a woman's locker room and her "junk" falls out it means a woman's junk fell out. Your error is to assume that biology or physiology = gender. The truth is the far from that conclusion. Likewise, a person in a men's locker room who, it is revealed while changing, has a vulva is still a man. The reduction of a human being to their plumbing is one of the most egregious lies perpetuated in modern times.

I hope the 'Your' wasn't addressed to me? I was trying to make the same point that you were (though perhaps not quite so well).

Edan wrote: I hope the 'Your' wasn't addressed to me? I was trying to make the same point that you were (though perhaps not quite so well).

It was directed at LTK. It took me a considerable amount of time to conjure up an appropriate response amidst other thoughts and feelings I'm having regarding this. I hadn't see your response nor V's response when I wrote that.

i think some of it has to do with body image...many people (mostly women it seems) are uncomfortable with their own body image and don't want to see someone else's body...then there is the homophobia aspect (which really is wasted energy)...

personally i find the human form fascinating and the female form (in most cases) to be absolutely beautiful :blush: ...and certainly more preferable to look at than the male form :lol:

of course i am respectful enough not to look unless invited to.

when i was playing football the thought that there could be a gay teammate checking me out always lingered in my mind...but i decided that it was a compliment if a gay guy found me attractive :lol:

perhaps gyms should have private changing areas?

or maybe she could change in a bathroom/shower stall if it bothered her that much...

forgot about christianity's shaming of women, sex, and sexuality...that has done more damage than anything else...

There's no need to get angry or upset. I'm here to learn after all and correct the error of my ways should it be warranted. I'm not coming in guns a blazing so to speak. Feel free to speak frank to me.

That being said, I also don't care if a gay guy is checking me out in the locker room. If he or the transgendered he wants to check out my hairy ass, I don't care. But not everyone is as nonchalant as me.

What I don't like about this policy is how easily it can be abused. If a voyeur that was posing as transgender goes into the woman's locker room, that's asking for problems. I know I wouldn't want my wife in such a locker room and she has voiced the same to me.

I'm interested in people that oppose my view because I'm interested in what they have to say. I posted this here on purpose because we have transgendered at this Temple and this is the perfect forum to discuss it without fear of backlash or abuse.

I think it's a bad policy of Planet Fitness and I don't support it. I'm glad Jamie jumped in with her opinion as it gives me something to think about but I'm not swayed. What do others think (and Jamie please feel free to speak up again)?

that's a valid concern...

there's always going to be pervs and @$$holes that will try to game the system to satisfy themselves...i would think they're in the minority though...of course for all we know this has already been going on for years unnoticed...

by shaming and making sex/sexuality a taboo society has created a system of perverted desire when it would be so much better if people could see the naked form of the opposite gender and respond as if it was no big deal...