A Planet Fitness gym in Alaska has upheld its decision to bar an anti-LGBTQ+ individual who took photos of and confronted a transgender individual using the women’s locker room.
The individual banned from the gym is Patricia Silva, She posted a public video on Facebook on March 11 stating that she observed a “man shaving in the women’s bathroom” at the gym. Silva, a follower of former President Donald Trump, has written social media posts opposing drag queen story hours and supporting the QAnon movement, which is against the LGBTQ+ community. Her account has been echoed by conservative media outlets, including Chaya Raichick, known as Libs of TikTok on social media.
“I understand he identifies as a woman, therefore he has the right to be in the women’s bathroom,” Silver said in her March 11 Facebook video. “I care about him as a fellow believer in Christ. He is a spiritual being experiencing human life. He is not comfortable with his gender… but I am uncomfortable with him shaving in my bathroom.”
Silva told The Gateway Pundit that she witnessed the individual shaving in front of a 12-year-old girl in a towel who seemed uneasy. Silva snapped a photo of the individual and shared it online, The Daily Mail reported. She also confronted the individual and said, “You are a man shaving in the women’s bathroom, and I am not OK with that.” The other individual reportedly responded, “Well, I’m LGB [lesbian, gay, or bisexual].”
Silva replied, “Regardless of that… nevertheless, I told him, ‘You’re a man and you’re invading my space.’ He wanted to argue to justify why he can be there… I walked away.”
Silva then reportedly spoke to two male Planet Fitness employees at the gym’s front desk who permitted the trans woman to remain in the locker room. The gym subsequently terminated Silva’s membership and filed a police report against her for taking photos of people in the locker room.
“[Planet Fitness] revoked my membership and allowed the pedophile to remain ‼️,” Silva later wrote in a Facebook post about the incident. Her claims have since been covered by the anti-LGBTQ+ account Libs of TikTok. Silva has also since posted several AI-generated images of a Planet Fitness gym on fire.
Planet Fitness’s nondiscrimination policy prohibits employees from discriminating against trans individuals unless there is “serious concern or significant doubt” about their identity. If 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,” the policy of the gym explains.
“As the home of the Judgement Free Zone, Planet Fitness is committed to creating an inclusive environment,” said McCall Gosselin, chief corporate affairs officer at Planet Fitness, in a statement to Fox News. “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 breached our mobile device policy that prohibits taking photos of individuals in the locker room, leading to their membership being terminated.”
LGBTQ Nation contacted Planet Fitness for further comment and will update this article if they respond.
In her previous Facebook writings, Silva has expressed the belief that COVID-19 vaccines have tracking devices and can lead to infertility. She has also asserted that President Joe Biden is a child abuser and a communist who is “sexually abusing children and using their body parts for harvesting.
