Is this outfit ‘inappropriate’ for the gym? Woman, 27, is left outraged after being told to leave the club during a workout because she was showing ‘too much skin’
- Gabi Goddard was training at a Sydney gym when she was approached by staff
- She was asked to leave because her outfit was inappropriate and too revealing
- The fashion blogger, 27, was wearing grey cycling shorts and a black sports bra
- She was told a teacher was concerned about teen pupils seeing ‘so much skin’
A fashion blogger has been left outraged after she was was asked to leave a gym because her cycling shorts and sports bra were deemed inappropriate by a school teacher.
Gabi Goddard, from Hornsby on Sydney’s North Shore, was working out on Friday when she was approached by a member of staff who asked her to go home and change into different clothes if she wanted to continue her session.
When she asked why, the 27-year-old power-lifter was told a teacher chaperoning a group of teenage pupils at the facility was concerned about ‘the children seeing so much skin’.
Gabi Goddard was working out in this outfit on Friday when she was approached by gym staff who asked her to go home and change into different clothes if she wanted to continue
Enraged, Ms Goddard shared the experience on her Instagram story, telling followers it had been a hot day in a gym without air conditioning.
She also shared a screenshot of a complaint she emailed to the principal of the school where the teacher worked, arguing it had been out of line for them to interfere in what women choose to wear.
‘I am horrified that your school has sway over the clothing choices (and freedom to exercise) of an independent adult woman,’ she wrote.
‘Moreover, your school is perpetuating the values (with real life consequences) that are demonstrably harmful.’
‘Namely that we live in a world where 14-year-old boys are given priority over women. Where women are punished for boy’s and men’s propensity for objectifying women.’
Ms Goddard (pictured) said she has worn the outfit, which was in ‘no way gratuitous’ nor violated any dress codes, at countless other gyms and never received a single complaint
The complaint Ms Goddard emailed the principal of the school, arguing that her outfit was entirely appropriate for a gym without air conditioning
She added as a paying client of the gym, she couldn’t understand why the school’s membership appeared to wield ‘more influence’ than hers.
Ms Goddard said she has worn the outfit, which was in ‘no way gratuitous’ nor violated any dress codes, at countless other gyms and never received a single complaint.
She ended by saying it is ‘discouraging’ that such an issue was raised by a teacher who is ‘charged with moulding our next generation into well-round (sic) adults’.
The email was quickly reposted by Australian feminist Clementine Ford and Instagram page, The Nasty Woman Club, where followers vented their outrage.
One said: ‘This stuff drives me crazy, I wouldn’t want my daughter being told what to wear by a stranger.’
Ms Goddard sent an email complaining about the teacher’s behaviour to the principal of the school, a move which has been supported by dozens of women
Others called it ‘infuriating’ and ‘unacceptable’ and asked how they could support Ms Goddard’s complaint against the school.
Some questioned why the owner or manager of the gym didn’t intervene on Ms Goddard’s behalf.
But she replied saying she was aware the owners had struggled financially as a result of forced COVID-19 closures and didn’t want to involve them in case it jeopardised their contract with the school.
Nevertheless, Ms Goddard has since switched gyms.
She shared a video on Saturday of herself working out in a different studio wearing striped leggings and a blue crop top with the caption: ‘Don’t look at my bum though.’