Women’s-Only Gym Faces Backlash for Excluding Trans Women

The founder of a women-only gym has found herself at the center of a social media storm—with both critics and supporters—after she walked-back her initial plans to include trans-female clients.

Natalee Barnett, a 25-year-old fitness influencer from the U.K. with hundreds of thousands of followers across various platforms online, has been updating her “nataleebfitness” fans for years about her plan to open her own gym. She is currently preparing to open a venue in London called “The Girls Spot” catering specifically for women.

Four years ago, in 2021, Barnett posted on X (formerly Twitter) to confirm that trans-women would also be welcome when she opened. However, on Sunday, she released a video statement on X saying her soon-to-open gym is now only “for biological women.” Her lengthy explanation, watched by more than 32 million viewers and shared more than 15,000 times, has been greeted with a mix of both fury and praise from X users.

Newsweek has reached out to Barnett via her Instagram page seeking further information and comment on the furor.

Why It Matters

The episode comes amid an increasingly bitter cultural debate about the rights of transgender people in society, particularly relating to their inclusion in women’s sports and women-only spaces. Trans athletes, such as the swimmer Lia Thomas, have been accused of “stealing” podium wins from cisgender women who have not undergone male puberty. While Thomas’s competitor-turned-activist Riley Gaines has also said that women being forced to change alongside transgender athletes who have male genitalia constitutes a form of sexual abuse.

President Donald Trump recently enshrined his stance on the debate in law, by signing an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women’s or girls’ sporting events.

The U.K. has been riven by similar debates about the role trans athletes should play in women’s sport, so Barnett’s gym has now found itself in the eye of the storm.

What To Know

Barnett revealed on X on February 2 that her long-time goal of opening a women’s gym was set to become a reality this year. She shared photos of her posing outside The Girls Spot alongside an X post from 2021 when the then-21-year-old first outlined her plans to open her own gym.

However, another post she shared in 2021 has also received renewed attention.

Four years ago, Barnett had written that, “respectfully, if you have a problem with trans women attending my gym then you can find another gym to train at. 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.”

But in an X post this weekend, the gym owner explained that she had changed her mind about the admittance of trans-women, writing: “Addressing my tweet from 2021. The Girls Spot operates as a female-only gym for biological women, tackling harassment, sexual assault & violence that women face inside the gym. The tweet circling was made 4 years ago and I was in the very early stages of creating a concept.”

She also attached a video in which she spoke directly to the camera to explain her reasoning. She told viewers the gym was designed to be a safe space for women who often suffer from sexual harassment at mixed gyms.

She also said she has now had several years to work out exactly what she wants her venue to provide, saying that “the meaning of The Girls Spot gym is now entirely different.” She added: “Whilst we are a gym, inside we are focusing on self defense classes, Muay Thai, boxing classes, as well as workshops and activations around PCOS [polycystic ovary syndrome] and training on your menstrual cycle, all of which occur to biological women.”

Later in the video, she stressed: “We do believe that everybody deserves a safe space and there are many gyms that are starting to have mixed cubicles in changing rooms so that individuals can feel safer and more included in these environments. But The Girls Spot gym as a standalone is a female-only gym because it is imperative that I stick to the vision and the mission and ensure that these women feel safe.”

A follow-up X post added: “I believe trans women and other individuals deserve safe spaces too, that hasn’t changed.”

What People Are Saying

Barnett’s decision on the membership of her gym sparked both delight and despair among internet commentators.

One X user, whose profile said she is an “adult human female,” said: “THANK YOU for standing up for biological women and girls this way. May your business thrive.”

But another commentator, whose profile says they are “nonbinary writer,” said: “I hope your gym fails honestly. How you creating a ‘safe space’ but excluding the most vulnerable? (sic)”

And others questioned how Barnett would enforce her policy and wondered who would be affected by that.

One X user, who described themselves as a 23-year-old “fat” person, said: “how do you intend to police that in a way that is not incredibly invasive?”

While another added: “what do the logistics ACTUALLY look like ? checking private parts at the door ??? when muscular c!s [cisgender] women who don’t look ‘woman enough’ want to come what then ? when those women experience discrimination from other women trying to transinvestigate, what then ?? as a business woman, i’m interested to see how you imagine this working.”

What Happens Next

Barnett has set up a pink-themed website for The Girls Spot, which is set to open in the spring. Would-be clients are invited to sign up to the waiting to list to “become a founding member,” where they can “feel safe, protected, and inspired to thrive in a space built just for you.”