Natalie Barnett
Appearances
The Brett Cooper Show
Why Trans Activists Are Attacking This Gym Owner | Episode 14
In 2021, four years ago, I made a tweet and the tweet referenced my women's only gym, the Girl Spot and being trans inclusive. Now, when I made that tweet in 2021, I had just announced my plans to open a women's only gym. I hadn't thought out the vision or the mission or what it would entail, but all I knew is that I wanted to open a gym.
The Brett Cooper Show
Why Trans Activists Are Attacking This Gym Owner | Episode 14
The Girl Spot gym exists as a safe space for women because women are facing gym harassment, sexual assault and sexual violence inside of gyms. And I know that because I'm a victim of it. So the meaning of the Girl Spot gym is now entirely different.
The Brett Cooper Show
Why Trans Activists Are Attacking This Gym Owner | Episode 14
And I say this to say that whilst we are a gym, inside we are focusing on self-defense classes, Mai Tai, boxing classes, as well as workshops and activations around PCOS and training on your menstrual cycle, all of which occur to biological women.
The Brett Cooper Show
Why Trans Activists Are Attacking This Gym Owner | Episode 14
Majority of the women who are seeking my women's only gym, the Girl Spot, are coming here because they have faced some level of gym intimidation or sexual violence and assault that has been perpetrated by men. So as the owner of the gym, it is very important to make it clear how my women's only gym will be operating, and it will be operating as a single sex space for biological women.
The Brett Cooper Show
Why Trans Activists Are Attacking This Gym Owner | Episode 14
What really saddens me is that so many people are saying that I'm transphobic. I thoroughly, thoroughly, thoroughly researched, I seeked legal advice, I spoke to communities, I spoke to trans women themselves, which I found very important to do so, to see how to navigate all of this because I am not trans.
The Brett Cooper Show
Why Trans Activists Are Attacking This Gym Owner | Episode 14
So, obviously the decision to make it was not based on excluding any individuals, it wasn't based on malice, nothing of the sort. The decision was based on the simple fact that I have been sexually assaulted inside of a gym. That is why I stand here as a women's only gym owner.
The Brett Cooper Show
Why Trans Activists Are Attacking This Gym Owner | Episode 14
I was sexually assaulted inside of a gym which means a lot of trauma and a lot of emotion and well-being is behind this project. This is not just a gym.