Planet Fitness stock dramatically dropped after controversy ensued over membership cancellation following an incident where a female gym-goer photographed a transgender woman using the women's locker room.
Planet Fitness, an American chain of fitness centers, underwent a financial blow earlier this week after one of its gyms located in Alaska canceled the membership of angered customer Patricia Silva.
The company’s stock price, which traded at a monthly high of $66.92 on March 7, plummeted to a low of $56.46 on Tuesday (March 19), The New York Post reported.
The price drop followed an incident where Patricia encountered a “man in [the] women’s locker room shaving.”
Planet Fitness' stock dropped after canceling a customer's membership after she photographed a trans woman in the lockers
Image credits: planetfitness
In a video Patricia posted on Facebook, she claimed that there was “a little girl sitting in the corner. She could have been [12 years old] … in a towel kind of freaked out.”
Continuously misgendering the fellow gym-goer, Patricia added: “I was offended. I took a picture of him.”
Silva added that the person had been shaving their face and told her they were “queer.”
Image credits: EEJCC
Queer is an umbrella term that can encompass a variety of sexual orientations and gender identities that are not exclusively heterosexual or cisgender.
Upon complaining to Planet Fitness’ management, Patricia claimed her membership was revoked for violating the rules against photographing other gym users.
The gym’s policy allows members to use the locker room that corresponds with their gender identity, The Post reported.
The customer, Patricia Silva, posted several transphobic rants on social media
Image credits: Patricia Silva
The company said in a statement: “Our gender identity non-discrimination policy states that members and guests may use the facilities that best align with [their] sincere, self-reported gender identity.”
It further stated: “If it is confirmed that a member is acting in bad faith and improperly asserts a gender identity, they may be asked to leave and their membership may be terminated.”
Silva condemned Planet Fitness’ decision in another Facebook video, adding she was going to report the incident to the police, WGXA News reported.
You can watch Patricia's videos below:
“This morning I got canceled,” she said. “Planet Fitness is defending the man in the women’s locker room, the man with a penis, rather than the child sitting in the corner with a towel wrapped around her.”
There is no evidence that letting transgender people use public facilities that align with their gender identity increases safety risks, according to a study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.
The study was the first of its kind to rigorously test the relationship between nondiscrimination laws in public accommodations and reports of crime in public restrooms and other gender-segregated facilities, NBC News reported.
“Research has shown that transgender people are frequently denied access, verbally harassed or physically assaulted while trying to use public restrooms,” according to Jody L. Herman, one of the study’s authors and a public policy scholar at the Williams Institute.
"Mind your own goods," a reader commented
The recent incident involving Planet Fitness underscores the ongoing struggle for many to accept and understand transgender rights, especially in spaces traditionally divided by gender. This situation resonates deeply with the experiences of women in medical settings, where having one's preferences respected, such as preferring female healthcare providers, can be crucial for comfort and safety.
To explore more about how preferences in gender representation affect experiences and perceptions in sensitive scenarios, consider the story of a woman's refusal to be operated on by an all-male team.