The owner of a soon-to-open women’s-only gym in London has faced backlash online after clarifying that the space will not be open to biological men who choose to identify as transgender, and instead prioritize the safety of biological women.
Last month, fitness influencer Natalee Barnet announced that her women’s-only gym, The Girls Spot, had finally secured a location in Wandsworth, London. As described on the facility’s website, the gym “stems from the desire to tackle gym harassment, intimidation and sexual harassment that women face in the gym regularly,” and markets itself as “an environment that allows women to thrive as women.”
Barnet, who has amassed over one million followers on TikTok, had long shared her plans of opening a women’s-only gym with her fans, and regularly offered them updates on her progress. But after proudly declaring her dreams had become a reality, past comments Barnet had made on social media sparked debate.
In 2021, she made a post on X, then Twitter, regarding her policy on trans-identified males using her planned gym. “Respectfully, if you have a problem with trans women attending my gym then you can find another gym to train at,” Barnet posted. “I have discussed this several times before, trans women are women and also a minority that need to be protected. Please keep your transphobia away.” The fitness influencer repeated the sentiment in other social media videos at the time.
However, on Sunday, Barnet clarified in a video posted to X that her position had since changed on the issue. She noted that she had not really fully considered the vision of the gym, which now extends to self-defense classes such as Muay Thai, and hosting “events, workshops and activations around PCOS and training on your menstrual cycle.” The majority of women who would want to come to the gym are those who had experienced harassment or sexual assault, and therefore it was “imperative that [she] stick to the vision and the mission and ensure that these women feel safe.”
As a survivor of sexual assault in a gym herself, Barnet explained the issue of creating a single-sex space was close to her heart. In 2022, she spoke to the Daily Mail about a traumatic incident that she had survived when she was just 18.
“I was sitting in front of the mirrors next to a male gym-goer, who I’d known for a while, and we were talking,” she said. “As I laid back on one of the benches, he touched me really inappropriately. I don’t want to give exact details as it’s too upsetting. It was so rapid that at first, I questioned whether it had happened at all. I couldn’t believe a man would do such a thing to a woman in a public space.”
“I jumped to my feet, without saying a word and kind of stumbled away. I was in shock. He’d never done anything to make me suspect he’d behave like that. I’ve no idea why he thought he could get away with it,” Barnet added. “I didn’t say anything to any of my family. I was upset and processing what had happened. I’ve got brothers and knew if they found out they would be very angry.”
After her announcement, Barnet immediately faced backlash from trans-identified male and pro-trans commentators for her decision, with some arguing that this amounted to a “rug pull.”
Others argued that the concept of the women’s-only gym was unenforceable, and suggested that it was impossible to tell males and females apart from one another in some cases.
“You gonna do genital checks? Gonna do DNA scans? Gonna refuse any woman who happens to look too masculine for your tastes? Think you can ‘always tell’? you had a good concept and turned it into something centered around hateful judgement,” one furious commentator remarked.
Beth McColl, a London-based freelance journalist who has bylines in Vice and Elle magazine, suggested that it was “men” not “trans women” who harassed women inside and outside of gyms.
“Our efforts to tackle harassment, sexual assault and violence should include all victims of that,” McColl said. “A real shame.”
But the detractors, who have also targeted Barnet with chilling death threats and perverse sexual comments, were challenged by supporters who praised the influencer for her decision to stand by women.
Barnet quickly attracted attention from Sex Matters trustee Emma Hilton, and the founder of women’s-only app Giggle, Sall Grover. Women’s rights advocates similarly piled into Barnet’s replies to defend her from abuse.
Today, Barnet made another post clarifying her position.
“I wholeheartedly sympathise with Trans women and allies who feel hurt by my recent announcement and I appreciate that the decision to operate in this way will come to [sic] as a disappointment to some,” Barnet said. “This has been the unwavering driver behind The Girls Spot and I am excited to launch this space.”
“I want to be clear, I am in no way saying that trans women don’t face adversity or that they don’t deserve a safe space because they absolutely do. We’re all entitled to be treated with kindness and respect,” she added. “The Girls Spot is no different to many other businesses and we operate in accordance with carefully considered financial budgets, balanced by location, operating hours and longevity, meaning it isn’t possible in our early stages to provide all-alternatives [sic].”
“The decision to have The Girls Spot as a single sex gym for those biologically female was not an easy decision and something that I thought over for many years. I spent a great deal of time and money seeking legal advice and it was absolutely not a choice made lightly or out of exclusion or malice, but rather out of my commitment to ensuring a space where women who have experienced trauma, harassment, or discomfort in co-ed gyms can feel at ease,” Barnet continued. “That has always been my mission and drive behind the business. The Girls Spot is on a long journey and I will continue to listen, learn and lend my support for there to be inclusive fitness spaces for all. My hope is that every woman, cis and trans, finds a space as they need to feel secure, strong and empowered.”
Despite some claims from online trans activists that Barnet’s decision would violate the law, the Equality Act does allow for single-sex spaces that specifically block out trans-identified males, even if they have legally changed their sex on documents.
Guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission was updated on the issue in 2022, which says that trans-identified men may be excluded if the reasons are “justifiable and proportionate.” The guidance also specifically mentions two of the points that Barnet discussed in her video and further statement.
One example given by the EHRC in 2022 was where “a leisure centre introduces some female only fitness classes. It decides to exclude trans women because of the degree of physical contact involved in such classes.” The Muay Thai classes that Barnet suggested the gym would end up focusing on would be one of these.
Furthermore, the EHRC said it would also “most likely to be proportionate to exclude, modify or limit trans people’s access where a service provider has limited resources and physical space to alter the way the service is provided or if they are dealing with groups with particular needs; for example, female victims of male sexual assault who may feel unable to participate in the presence of someone they perceive as male.” Given the specifics of The Girls Spot creating a safe space for women who had been sexually assaulted in a gym before, this would also likely fall within the scope of the protections of the act.
Last year, Reduxx reported how a trans-identified male who was denied membership and access to the women’s showers at a female-only fitness center in Bavaria sued the facility for €2,500 in compensation, claiming “personal injury suffered.” The suit came just mere weeks after the gym was already ordered to pay him €1,000 by the federal anti-discrimination commissioner.
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