‘How Is That Legal?‘: Man Accuses Texas Owner Of Women-Only Gym Of Being ‘Sexist.’ It Backfires

A Texas man blasted this women-only gym as “sexist.” The owner responds to his accusation, and her community is behind her 100%.

TikTok creator Lauren Briggs (@laurenabbybriggs) owns Core Wellness in Lubbock, Texas. She posted a video about the phone call on Dec. 8. She starts the video by saying, “So I own a women’s-only gym, and the other day I got a call from a man. This made me giggle.”

Briggs continues, “He was asking if we had a sauna, and I said, ‘Yes, sir, we do, but it’s a women’s-only gym. I’m sorry.’ He was like, ‘That’s sexist, isn’t it?’ I was taken aback. I was like, ‘Well, you’re just going to make your own men’s-only gym. I think we’d all be fine with that.’ I think he was flabbergasted.”

In the video’s text overlay, she asks, “Why was he baffled it’s women’s only?”

Viewers React To The Texas Man Calling Women-Only Gym ‘Sexist’

In the comments section, viewers defended Briggs’ women-only gym and criticized the man for perceived hypocrisy.

“What about country clubs and golf courses that don’t allow women,” asked one viewer.

“Men think we want women’s only spaces to make them feel excluded, because men want women to feel excluded,” wrote a second viewer. "But the truth is women want women-only spaces to feel safe.”

“That was the best reply to that,” a third person said. “Because who wants a men’s only gym? Not even the men.”

Others focused on learning about a new resource in their area. “Wait, we have a women’s only gym in Lubbock?” asked one enthusiastic viewer.

Are Women-Only Gyms Legal?

In the United States, it is generally not illegal for a gym facility to cater to women exclusively. However, that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been successful legal challenges to the practice.

In 2022, the Connecticut Supreme Court found that women-only exercise facilities at two gyms violated state gender discrimination law. While religious groups fought to preserve the practice, others—including the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut—celebrated the decision. That’s because LGBTQ activists are concerned that these facilities could exclude trans women.

Connecticut is just one of several states, including Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, and New Jersey, where parties made successful challenges to women-only gym setups, including ones at women-exclusive areas at mixed-gender facilities.

In various Reddit threads, commenters noted correctly that private club rules are generally less restricted by federal and state discrimination laws. However, the ACLU argued that private clubs are therefore not supposed to run like private businesses, which are restricted by those laws. And the possibility of the practice unintentionally turning into discrimination against trans or other gender nonconforming people is a real concern, the organization said.

@laurenabbybriggs

Update Dec. 30: In an email to Patch, Briggs wrote, "It was very cool seeing how many women really appreciate what I've created. I had never gotten a comment like that before, and I don't think he meant any harm by it. I think it was just a joke, and my sassy answer was also meant to be a joke! Women's only gyms are so important because women and men train so differently. This allows the girls to feel comfortable whether they're new to the gym or if they've been going for years."

She continued, "We also provide childcare. This is another thing that helps break down barriers some people face when getting back into exercising. We don't have anything specific in our policy about transgender/non-binary people. That's not something we've faced yet. Overall, my main goal was to create a space where women could come work out, take care of themselves, and all have fun together without any eyes or pressure on them."