Pregnant woman asked to leave gym because of her belly?!?

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Replies

  • yellowlemoned
    yellowlemoned Posts: 335 Member
    Without knowing all the specifics here is my 10 cents.

    I think if they have a strict policy about not having your belly show, she should have made sure hers was covered, pregnant or not rules are rules. On that note, the gym handled it poorly and definitely should re-evaluate their procedures. How hard would it have been to tell her that it's against policy to have your belly showing and that she would need to change her attire? Explain why the rule exists rather than making a scene and causing the woman to feel unwelcome.
  • Strokingdiction
    Strokingdiction Posts: 1,164 Member
    Without knowing all the specifics here is my 10 cents.

    I think if they have a strict policy about not having your belly show, she should have made sure hers was covered, pregnant or not rules are rules. On that note, the gym handled it poorly and definitely should re-evaluate their procedures. How hard would it have been to tell her that it's against policy to have your belly showing and that she would need to change her attire? Explain why the rule exists rather than making a scene and causing the woman to feel unwelcome.

    This post seems logical. +1
  • CassandraBurgos83
    CassandraBurgos83 Posts: 544 Member
    Even with my preggo shirts my belly popped out and made it's appearance. However, if that would have been me with my crazy preggo hormones I probably would have belly popped someone across the room for being rude.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Without knowing all the specifics here is my 10 cents.

    I think if they have a strict policy about not having your belly show, she should have made sure hers was covered, pregnant or not rules are rules. On that note, the gym handled it poorly and definitely should re-evaluate their procedures. How hard would it have been to tell her that it's against policy to have your belly showing and that she would need to change her attire? Explain why the rule exists rather than making a scene and causing the woman to feel unwelcome.

    This ^^
  • Cathalain
    Cathalain Posts: 424 Member
    Uhoh.... she was asked to leave Planet Fitness.

    (grabs popcorn) :drinker:
  • madhatter2013
    madhatter2013 Posts: 1,547 Member
    Oh look. Planet Fitness again.

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  • Cedura
    Cedura Posts: 184 Member
    I think that larger shirt sizes exist. If I can cover my "fat person" belly, then she can cover her "pregnant person" belly. Maternity clothes exist for this reason, and buying a larger exercise tank top is always an option.
    Did the gym handle it poorly- yes.
    But they give you all the policies in your contract when you sign up, and being pregnant is not an excuse to break a rule when there are obvious solutions.
  • RaeLB
    RaeLB Posts: 1,216 Member
    i can guess what gym this is without clicking on the article
  • duckturnrot
    duckturnrot Posts: 6 Member
    My tummy pops out of the maternity clothes I have...Now at 34w and looking at the picture, it wasn't like a full belly.. Needless to say she was ONLY 18w and I didn't start showing until I was around 28w. She could have fit her belly into her clothes. But I do think that the gym handled it poorely.
  • LassoOfTruth
    LassoOfTruth Posts: 735 Member
    And, of course this happened at a Planet Fitness.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I told her at that time, 'Of course my belly is hanging out, I am pregnant.'"

    Eh. The gym had a dress code and she violated it. She's not that big. Women who are overweight have bigger bellies and manage to cover them. She's kind of an idiot, IMO.

    But the employees should have quietly let her cancel instead of making a scene.
  • fougamou
    fougamou Posts: 200 Member
    They show her picture in the link. Not that pregnant and could have worn something that covered her belly.

    She said: " 'Of course my belly is hanging out, I am pregnant.'" It seems to me that is no different than " 'Of course my belly is hanging out, I am fat.'" I don't see a special privilege occurring because it is a baby and not fat.

    (Actually, most of it WAS fat when I was pg :blushing: )

    I don't think you can enforce a rule like covering if you are fat but you don't need to if pg.
  • madhatter2013
    madhatter2013 Posts: 1,547 Member
    Anymore, I think people are purposely are voilating PF's codes just to get kicked out so they can cancel their membership without having to pay the cancellation fee. Getting in the news tends to be a good motivator for some people also.
  • TriShamelessly
    TriShamelessly Posts: 905 Member
    Total BS on how it appears to have been handled by the gym staff. I can understand having a dress code in the gym, but really, this is how you enforce it?
  • CassandraBurgos83
    CassandraBurgos83 Posts: 544 Member
    I told her at that time, 'Of course my belly is hanging out, I am pregnant.'"

    Eh. The gym had a dress code and she violated it. She's not that big. Women who are overweight have bigger bellies and manage to cover them. She's kind of an idiot, IMO.

    But the employees should have quietly let her cancel instead of making a scene.



    That's my main thing-> They could have tactfully handled this without causing a stink.
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
    18 weeks? She's showing her belly on purpose at that stage. Not saying it isn't cute or whatever, but her pants are pulled way down on purpose.

    Now if she was 39 weeks and ready to pop, no way she should have to buy bigger clothes to wear for a week. I was expecting to see a gigantic pregnant belly, not a teeny bump with her pants pulled way down.
  • starrylioness
    starrylioness Posts: 543 Member
    I don't know, to me her belly isn't even really "hanging out". I don't see an issue with what she's wearing. I've seen people dress even more skimpy than that at a gym before.

    Still, it could have been handled better by the gym staff.
  • MizMimi111
    MizMimi111 Posts: 244 Member
    Why is she so special that she shouldn't follow the rules?

    And if she was so embarrassed by the whole encounter I'm curious why she ran straight to the media?:huh:
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Anymore, I think people are purposely are voilating PF's codes just to get kicked out so they can cancel their membership without having to pay the cancellation fee. Getting in the news tends to be a good motivator for some people also.
    That's the part I don't get. Why is someone getting kicked out of a gym for a dress code violation news?
  • CassandraBurgos83
    CassandraBurgos83 Posts: 544 Member
    Why is she so special that she shouldn't follow the rules?

    And if she was so embarrassed by the whole encounter I'm curious why she ran straight to the media?:huh:



    My guess was, that they embarrassed her and made her feel shamed by the way they handled the situation, it's not that it's a bad facility, it's the way they enforce their rules. Yes, rules are rules, but have some tact.
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  • lrkidd
    lrkidd Posts: 74 Member
    Rules are rules!! End of story....she violated a rule and was offered a shirt to cover her belly up with but refused. Seems to me that she was just trying to make a scene.
  • MizMimi111
    MizMimi111 Posts: 244 Member
    Why is she so special that she shouldn't follow the rules?

    And if she was so embarrassed by the whole encounter I'm curious why she ran straight to the media?:huh:



    My guess was, that they embarrassed her and made her feel shamed by the way they handled the situation, it's not that it's a bad facility, it's the way they enforce their rules. Yes, rules are rules, but have some tact.

    But we only know her side. She alleges that they handled it poorly. I'd be interesred to know what other people who were there thought of the situation.

    I say this as someone who works in customer service and is completely fed up with people crying "Rude!" because they don't get their way.
  • Kitty70f9
    Kitty70f9 Posts: 30 Member
    No, preggo bellies aren't creepy or gross, but still, rules are rules. From the article, it sounds like they offered her a shirt and she refused it. They didn't kick her out, but rather told her she needed to change. Perhaps the employee could have tried to speak to her off to the side instead of in front of other guests, but in the end, the lady should just follow the rules or find another gym if she can't/won't abide by them.

    When I was pregnant, I never had my belly hanging out unless I wanted it to. Which was once, for Halloween. It wasn't because I was ashamed or anything, but rather because I knew that I needed to dress properly, which meant my tummy was covered, regardless of my maternal state.
  • TX_Rhon
    TX_Rhon Posts: 1,549 Member
    18 weeks? She's showing her belly on purpose at that stage. Not saying it isn't cute or whatever, but her pants are pulled way down on purpose.

    Now if she was 39 weeks and ready to pop, no way she should have to buy bigger clothes to wear for a week. I was expecting to see a gigantic pregnant belly, not a teeny bump with her pants pulled way down.

    +1 If that's their rule and everyone is abiding by it, so should she.
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
    I agree with what's been said about her violating the dress code, pregnant or not (really, I've had two babies and know there is affordable maternity workout wear to be had).

    However I used to go to this specific Planet Fitness location. Let's just say that the staff never seemed to be the brightest bulbs, so I'm not surprised about the poor manner in which it was handled.
  • April_KT
    April_KT Posts: 332 Member
    Yeah i agree she should have worn different clothing but i also feel like the gym handled it poorly based on what is reported in the article. Now if they asked her to pull her pants up or shirt down and she refused then i understand but who knows. Media will always show the most dramatic side lol
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I don't really know how the gym handled it so it is hard to comment. There is always more than one side to the story. They did offer her a tshirt which she refused.
    This gym is known for asking people to leave for violating a number of their policies. It doesn't exactly surprise me.

    I think it reflects poorly on a business when they do not equally enforce a policy. Either you do or you don't, IMO. We do not know for sure if that was or was not done here. But in the end, it is their policy and they are within their rights to enforce it.
    I also don't think she gets a pass because she is pregnant. My belly is bigger than hers right now and I have had no issue keeping it covered. The top does not look like it is riding up in the picture, it looks like that is how it was worn. If it also rides up like she said (referring to before she was pregnant), it is entirely possible she was showing even more of her belly. Who knows.
  • DeterminedFee201426
    DeterminedFee201426 Posts: 859 Member
    lol
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    I knew that Planet Fitness was involved before I even opened this thread. Smh. What is wrong with that place?