An appeals court in Midland, Michigan just ruled in favor of Yvette Cormier, the woman who went on a transphobic rampage at a Planet Fitness then had her membership canceled.
It all started back in 2015, when Cormier saw a trans woman in the locker room. She went around warning other gym members about someone who “totally looked like a man” in the women’s locker room and telling them they were “unsafe.”
Planet Fitness responded by terminating membership on grounds of “inappropriate and disruptive” behavior, saying Cormier violated their “judgement-free zone” policy with her transphobic outburst.
Cormier immediately hit the media circuit.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
She told CNN: “If you have male parts you don’t need to be in the women’s locker room. I don’t care what you are. I don’t care if you’re gay lesbian, transgender or transvestite. I am uncomfortable with you as a male in my locker room, in my restroom.”
In response, Planet Fitness was forced to release a statement clarifying the reason for the revoked membership:
The manner in which she expressed her concerns about the policy exhibited behavior that club management deemed inappropriate and disruptive to other members, which is a violation of the membership agreement and as a result her membership was cancelled.
Cormier sued for $25,000, citing violation of privacy, severe emotional distress, and damage to her reputation. She lost in both a Michigan lower court and a state court. Then in April, the Michigan Supreme Court agreed to take a look at the case. This week, it determined that Planet Fitness did, in fact, violate its contract with Cormier.
Citing a state law about “failing to reveal a material fact” in an attempt to “mislead or deceive the consumer,” the Michigan Supreme Court declared that by allowing “men who self-identify as women” (say what?!) access to the women’s locker room, Planet Fitness had misrepresented its promise to Cormier that it would provide private women’s locker rooms.
“Plaintiff’s actions indicate that she strongly preferred a locker room and a restroom in which individuals who are assigned biologically male are not present,” the court rules, “and it is thus reasonable to infer that defendants’ failure to inform plaintiff of the unwritten policy affected her decision to join the gym.”
Now, the case is being sent back down to the lower court for examination. Cormier’s lawyer says he intends to file a motion for summary disposition which would declare the plaintiff the winner of the case without the need for another trial.
Related: Transphobic Woman Wants $25,000 From Planet Fitness For Canceling Her Membership
jimstoic
Passive voice makes this impossible to parse: “individuals who are assigned biologically male.” The decision also uses the phrase “individuals who are assigned male.” Assigned by whom?
It looks like the MI Supreme Court is as transphobic as Cormier. A transgender woman is not “a man who identified as a woman.”
What would they do with an intersex person? Require a separate facility? Would they require a trans man to use the women’s locker room and restroom?
sfhally
Actually, that’s the thing now. Transgender has pushed transsexual aside. There are men who say they ID as women so they want access to women’s spaces. But they want to keep their dicks and so forth. They like to refer to it as ‘lady dick’.
Because they consider themselves women therefore if they have a dick it’s a ‘lady dick’. Once you start looking this up on Twitter et al , it gets really creepy.
inbama
Having read the article, this seems to be a narrow ruling. If Planet Fitness wants penis-equipped transwomen in the ladies locker room, they need to spell that out in the contract so that biologically conventional women can choose whether or not they wish to join.
Tranime Girl
I feel like part of this story is missing.
SnakeyJ
Looks like the trans community has screwed themselves over on this issue. They have pushed the narrative so far that they ARE indeed saying that biological sex means nothing, and the person’s sex is determined by how they “self-identify.” What does self-identity even mean? Feelings and emotions shouldn’t be treated as scientific fact.
Me2
I imagine that the trans person was horrified and humiliated. But, these are the growing pains of the newly visible trans community. Society is still adjusting and trying to understand the concept of what it is to be trans. There’s a LOT of educating, debating, demanding and discussion that has to take place before sustainabile advances are made. It may be many, many decades before the majority of biological women are comfortable with sharing spaces reserved for them with pre-op trans male-to-females. In the meantime, companies that want to share or create spaces for transgendered individuals should be explicit with their intent and policies.
inbama
“Pre-op trans male-to-females?”
Don’t you know you’re not allowed to use that expression anymore?
Today, people who do not in any way “present” as female can declare themselves to be women.
MaxTaste
Cormier sounds like a horrible person. I wouldn’t want her working out where I did. Let her get pizza and bagels some place else.
James
I doubt anybody will want that hag’s membership now.