Transgender woman BANNED from female-only gym

Transgender woman says she’s ‘devastated’ after being BANNED from female-only gym: Owner was worried about how girls would feel working out near ‘big person with male voice’

• Brigid Klyne-Simpson joined Bodyworks Fitness in Parksville, British Columbia
• After joining she was told she could only enter co-ed gym because she’s trans
• She said she doesn’t feel comfortable training with men at gyms she has been to

A transgender woman was ‘devastated’ when she found out she was banned from the all-female gym she had recently joined after the owner said that members would feel uncomfortable working out near a ‘big person with a male voice.’ 

Brigid Klyne-Simpson said she signed a membership agreement at Bodyworks, an all-female fitness center located in Parksville, British Columbia, but later found out she would need to go to their second location – a mixed-use facility- because she is trans.

At first, Klyne-Simpson says she was welcomed with open arms at Bodyworks. She said she met with a trainer on Friday who welcomed her – even hugged her – and told her she would be safe at their gym.

The warm welcome, however, was revoked only a few days later when she got a call telling her that ‘they made a mistake’ that she wasn’t supposed to be at the women-only location, but could go to their mixed-use location.

The owner, Dale Nagra had told Klyne-Simpson that some of the female gym goers did not feel comfortable. She said she ‘was extremely devastated’ by the decision, and said ‘there’s really no other word for it.’

Transgender female Brigid Klyne-Simpson said after she signed the membership agreement at Bodyworks, a fitness center located in Parksville, British Columbia, she found out she would need to go to their second location – a mixed-use facility- because she is trans

Bodyworks Fitness is a gym in Parksville with two locations. One is mixed and their second facility is for women-only. The sign (pictured) states ‘Fitness for Women & Tanning Salon’

Kyle-Simpson told CHEK News that she had been a member of co-ed gyms before, but never felt comfortable because of the mostly male members, and felt like her authentic-self at at an all-female gym.

‘It was important to me to be in a place where I explicitly accept, like, ‘You’re a woman, you’re allowed to be here,’ she said.

She shared that she dropped out of college because she said she was ‘intimidated to be in the college gym with a bunch of mostly really muscular guys.’

‘So finding a women’s gym was something that seemed really exciting, and now that I’m gone I understand why I felt uncomfortable in the other place.’ 

 Last Friday – a few days after she enrolled at Bodyworks Fitness – she went for her first personal training session. She said she had a training session for more than an hour, and felt pumped and said she had a ‘great time.’

‘One of the trainers there greeted me and she was very nice and basically she could tell straight away that I’m trans and said I would be welcome there and specifically said I would be safe too and even hugged me,’ Klyne-Simpson said. 

But, the on Monday she got the call from the same person who had trained her, and recalled them saying:  ‘Sorry, we made a mistake, you’re not supposed to be here, but you’re welcome to use the mixed facility,’ she said. 

Despite, Klyne-Simpson’s distress, the gym owner stood by what he told her.

‘We want them to be comfortable, but we also have to be concerned about the young girls this gym is set up for and the women and how are their parents going to feel that they’re in there, then comes on this person with an all-male voice and great person,’ Nagra said.

‘So now you choose the consolation of the man identifying as a woman … and then anybody can go in there and say, ‘Okay, I identify as a woman and I want to be able to go in there.’ 

‘So do we choose the comfort of the transgender person, and they might not be as comfortable with the co-ed gym, but at least that’s an alternative, or do we choose the comfort of the young girls who train there, that might not be comfortable?’

Dale Nagra, (pictured) , owner of Bodyworks Fitness, stood by what he told new member Klyne-Simpson that she could use the mixed-facility since their female members did not feel comfortable with her using the women-only gym 

Kyle-Simpson told CHEK News that she she dropped out of college because she said she was ‘intimidated to be in the college gym with a bunch of mostly really muscular guys.’ ‘So finding a women’s gym was something that seemed really exciting, and now that I’m gone I understand why I felt uncomfortable in the other place’

A street view of Bodyworks Fitness located in Parksville, British Columbia 

Nagra explained that Klyne-Simpson is not their first transgender member. He said they have a number of transgender patrons at their Parksville’s co-ed gym which is set up with a women’s, men’s, and gender-neutral locker room.

‘We already have transgender people here and all kinds of people, we don’t discriminate at all,’ Nagra said. 

‘We have employees who belong to minorities, so we’re not saying there aren’t solutions, we’re looking for a solution and we’re not discriminatory people.’

Klyne-Simpson said she understands people may feel uncomfortable if they have never met a transgender person before, but believes all it takes is ‘education.’ 

‘Once you understand that trans women are women, trans men are men, non-binary people are who they say they are, it’s that simple,’ she said.

 ‘If you’re still uncomfortable afterward, that’s on you, not me. I am who I am, it’s as simple as that. I just look different. That’s all.’ 

Though Klyne-Simpson said she will not return to Bodyworks Fitness, she said that she did  reach out to the British Columbia and Alberni Valley Pride human rights commissioner to help others who may be in the same position.

 ‘Although I never intended to be a random activist or anything, I feel like maybe I have some responsibility, that I have to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone because that happened to me,’ she said.

American right-wing political commentator and author Matt Walsh posted on his Twitter page stating: ‘Not a single human on Earth sincerely believes that this person is a woman.’ 

He posted again hours later:  ‘By the way when I say not a single person on Earth believes it, I’m including the person in the video.’

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