Patricia Silva, who took the photo, said the 'queer' individual is still a member of the gym
An Alaskan woman had her Planet Fitness membership revoked after she took a photo of a "man with a penis" at one of the gym’s women’s locker rooms earlier this week.
The incident occurred at the Fairbanks location. A woman recorded herself speaking about the ordeal when she said a person identifying as "queer LBG" was shaving in the female locker room.
Planet Fitness confirmed to Fox News Digital that the woman violated policy regarding taking photos and/or videos in the locker room, resulting in the loss of her membership.
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Planet Fitness inflatable tube men are seen during the 2021 Times Square New Year's Eve Celebration on December 31, 2020, in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
"As the home of the Judgement Free Zone, Planet Fitness is committed to creating an inclusive environment," Planet Fitness chief corporate affairs officer McCall Gosselin said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Our gender identity non-discrimination policy, states that members and guests may use the gym facilities that best align with their sincere, self-reported gender identity. The member who posted on social media violated our mobile device policy that prohibits taking photos of individuals in the locker room, which resulted in their membership being terminated."
When asked if the transgender individual's "sincere, self-reported" gender was female, Planet Fitness did not respond.
Patricia Silva said she went to the gym on Monday and saw "a man with a penis" shaving in the women's locker room.
"I just came out of Planet Fitness, and there is a man shaving in the women's bathroom," she said in the first of several videos she posted about the incident. "I realize he wants to be a woman, he gets to be a woman. I love him in Christ, he's a spiritual being having a human experience. He doesn't like his gender, so he wants to be a woman. But I'm not comfortable with him shaving in my bathroom."
Anthony Carthan, an employee at Planet Fitness on Imperial Highway in Inglewood, disinfects exercise equipment. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
In a video posted on Wednesday, Silva said there was a girl who "could have been 12 years old . . . in a towel kind of freaked out that there's a man shaving in her locker room."
Silva said the individual identified as "queer LGB," thus believing "he had a right to be there." Planet Fitness identified the individual as transgender in an email exchange with Fox News Digital.
Silva said she took a picture of the individual, because she "felt that I was in an unsafe space."
Planet Fitness policy reads: "If a serious concern or significant doubt about the bona fides of a person’s transgender or nonbinary status/identity arises and which the team member can articulate, the team member shall address their concerns with the member. If discussion with the member fails to resolve the serious concern or doubt, the club may ask for external evidence of the member’s asserted gender identity. 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."
Fox News Digital asked Planet Fitness if the transgender individual violated any policy, to which the gym did not answer. However, in a comment thread on Facebook, Silva said Planet Fitness "allowed the man in the dressing room to remain a member."
A view of Planet Fitness in the Columbia Mall. (DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
Silva said she had received a call on Wednesday morning from the gym notifying her that they had canceled her membership.
"Planet Fitness is defending the man in the women's locker room, the man with a penis, rather than the child in the corner with a towel wrapped around her," Silva said.
