Us Woman booted out of gym over ‘distracting’ skin-tight pants
A US woman has detailed her horrifying encounter at the gym after being “shamed” for wearing a pair of gym tights commonly worn during workouts.
Kerry Rose Schwartz explained in a viral video she has struggled to feel comfortable in gyms her entire life – but after joining an all-women’s fitness centre, she felt empowered to work out.
But after finding a gym she finally felt “comfortable” attending, she was left shattered when the owner reportedly shamed her for wearing figure-hugging tights.
Detailing the “embarrassing” incident on TikTok, she asked followers for advice as she was told her tights were “distracting” and “offensive”, stating she “never wants to go back there again”.
“Basically the owner of the gym came up to me and said, ‘Hey listen we’ve got to have a quick chat,’” the influencer said.
“I could sense that something was wrong because the conversation got uncomfortable really quickly,” Kerry continued, adding that the manager wanted to address her “dress code”.
Kerry said she was very confused by the remark and said she wore tights and a sports bra – her daily workout uniform.
On this particular day she was wearing a pair of yellow tights, with Kerry then showing a photo of the pants for viewers to see.
“They said, ‘I’m really sorry we have to have this conversation but apparently you’re making a few women feel uncomfortable with the leggings that you wear,’” she said.
Kerry, who is the author of a popular dating book, Series of Unfortunate Men, went on to explain she was initially “confused,” “shocked” and felt “embarrassment” by the conversation.
“I almost felt shame even though I shouldn’t,” she said, adding the gym was meant to be a “safe space” with “no judgment”.
“I wasn’t wearing anything inappropriate,” she said.
The manager told Kerry that fellow gym-goers described the leggings as “distracting” and “offensive”.
She said she could understand if the management was calling her out for “wearing a G-string,” but said she couldn’t understand why the tights – which are similar to designs worn by women everywhere – weren’t suitable.
“I don’t think there is anything wrong with this. Why am I being shamed? Especially for a women’s gym,” she said.