Yesterday we wrote about fitness influencer Natalee Barnett AKA Natalee B Fitness, who is opening up a new female-only gym in London known as ‘The Girls Spot’. The idea is that the gym will operate as a safe space for women who want to work out without being perved on, harassed, chatted up or assaulted.
Despite initially telling her hundreds of thousands of followers in 2021 that the gym would be trans-inclusive, Natalee has since had a change of heart and determined that The Girls Spot will be exclusively for biological women, and not trans inclusive.
The internet being what it is, this prompted accusations of transphobia, discrimination, and even resulted in Natalee receiving some crazy death threats:
Amidst all the unnecessary abuse and threats of murder, there are actually a couple of valid points. Someone noted that transgender gym-goers may have contributed to the GoFundMe that funded The Girls Spot, back before Natalee clarified that it wouldn’t be trans-inclusive. There’s also the question of whether transgender men would be allowed to join The Girls Spot, given that they are biological women too (not that trans men would necessarily want to join a women’s-only gym, but it’s a fair point).
Aside from that though, it feels unfair to accuse Natalee B Fitness of being transphobic or bigoted. While it may be unlikely that a transgender gym-goer would harass or assault a biological woman at the gym, if it happens just once at a venue that is essentially guaranteeing women’s safety, then The Girls Spot would immediately lose its USP.
Here’s Natalee discussing the situation earlier this week:
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Whatever your take on it, I think we can all agree that having the online activist types threatening to kill her is not a great look. Her gym, her rules. Stay safe, Natalee!
For the weightlifter who ate 39 coins and 37 magnets because he thought ‘zinc helps in bodybuilding’, click HERE.
