There is definitely an unwritten consensus when it comes to dressing codes in gyms that, well, there isn’t one!
Sure people will usually choose to work out in what is typically deemed “sportswear”, but generally speaking, people don’t give much thought to what they wear at the gym and whether or not it will be seen as acceptable by the staff.
I mean, the only rule (if you can call it that) is that you probably shouldn’t turn up dressed to the nines otherwise you might get some strange looks.
And as one gym-goer called Sarah Villafañe discovered, not conforming to their prudish standards can lead you to be thrown out.
According to the staff at this particular gym, Sarah’s workout gear was “inappropriate”, but if you look at the photo below, I think you’ll agree that her attire looks no different to that of pretty much every female at the gym.
Her outfit is by no means sexually suggestive or overly revealing, but in spite of this, she was told to pack up her gym kit and promptly leave.
The gym in question is at the College of Charleston, and they felt she wasn’t covered up enough. That’s pretty outrageous as she wasn’t “indecently” dressed in the slightest. After all, workouts tend to increase people’s body temperature, meaning that excessive clothing would be counterintuitive.
So what exactly went down? Well, while she was in the middle of a workout, a member of staff interrupted her to tell put a shirt over so that she had “full coverage”. Otherwise, she would have no choice but to leave the premises.
Moments afterward, the manager came over and repeated what the other member of staff told Sarah and then asked her to leave.
Sarah chose to talk about the unfortunate incident on Facebook, writing:
“So I just got kicked out of the College of Charleston student gym for wearing this outfit. Like not allowed to work out. Not allowed to because of THIS OUTFIT THAT I BOUGHT SPECIFICALLY TO WORK OUT IN.”
“I’ve worn this same outfit all day. Went to 3 classes and spoke personally with each of my professors today and they didn’t have a problem. But when I walked into the gym they asked me to put on a different shirt. Obviously, I didn’t bring an extra shirt to the gym and wasn’t about to wear my flannel while working out. So I just said mhm ok and went about my work out pretty pissed off that they even asked me to change.”
“Then, when I’m in the BACK CORNER of the gym doing abs on the floor, another staff member comes up and asks me to ‘put my shirt back on.’ I said ‘I have a shirt on.’ They say ‘no that’s not a shirt. You have to wear a whole shirt’ I say ‘how is this not a shirt?’”
“And she says ‘You need full coverage. If you have a problem, we always have our boss here.’ I laughed and said ‘Alright bring him over here if he has a problem.’”
“A few minutes later while I’m doing more workouts on the floor, the ‘boss’ comes up. He says ‘I’m gonna need you to put a shirt on.’ Again, I tell them ‘I am wearing a shirt.’ He says ‘I need you to put on a shirt or I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.’ I said ‘But I HAVE A SHIRT ON.’ He says ‘Are you gonna put a shirt on?’ And I said ‘Well if this isn’t a shirt… no. I’m not gonna put a shirt on.’”
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“WTF COFC. I bought this outfit to work out in because it’s COMFORTABLE. What is the issue? Why can’t I work out in this outfit? Is my belly button distracting to the general 85% male demographic that your gym serves? I’m forced to leave, WHY? Honestly, I’m so floored that I just got kicked out for this. DO BETTER COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON.”
In response to Sarah’s frankly reasonable complaint, the College of Charleston later attempted to justify their actions by claiming she was asked to leave for “sanitary concerns”.
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However, Sarah insists they never once claimed this was the reason when they threw her out.“The gym has since said that they kicked me out for ‘sanitary concerns.’ However, they never made those sanitary concerns clear when they asked me to change.”
“They told me I need ‘more coverage ‘and nothing more. Not to mention, their website has no written dress code anyway. The dress code at the front of the gym simply says ‘Athletic wear must be worn.’ I would say that what I’m wearing (whether you believe it’s a sports bra or a crop top) is completely normal and considered athletic wear.”
It’s fair to say that most people would regard the gym’s conduct as unacceptable and discriminatory. Sarah was singled out for wearing an outfit in no way dissimilar to what other people wear at the gym.
