Community LGBTQ2S+ Fitness Accessibility Report

Introduction

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Are you interested in learning what you can do to make your gym a better place? Do you want to start going to a gym but feel intimidated or have had pretty negative experiences in the past? This guide can help! 

In 2018, in partnership with Queerflex, we designed and delivered a community survey for 2SLGBTQ+ folks to better understand their fitness experiences, with a focus on what contributes to good or bad experiences in the gym, as well as what might prevent 2SLGBTQ+ folks from going to gyms or fitness spaces.

Responses came from across Alberta, and even other parts of North America, and represented a diverse range of community members. Throughout this guide, we’ve taken the common themes which emerged from their survey responses to provide useful tips you can use when considering accessing new physical fitness spaces or services or making improvements to the one you currently use. By the end of this guide, you should have a better idea of:

  • What questions to ask of a new fitness space or provider

  • What to look for when considering a new fitness space or service

  • What you should be able to expect from the fitness spaces and services you use

  • Tools available to help you identify and ask for changes when needed

Note: This is intended to be a practical report for community members. For a more detailed description of the survey and analysis, feel free to visit the 2SLGBTQ+ Fitness Accessibility Report for Professionals by clicking here.

Inclusive Training

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What did people say? What gyms can I go to? How the heck do I figure this out?

We did get some information about safer gyms and trainers, but a lot more of the comments we heard were about the people who worked in the spaces. It seems that, by and large, inclusive staff and management create inclusive spaces. Finding a gym with the right people to meet your personal training or group fitness needs can be pretty hard but it’s not impossible! Just look at our survey results. About a third of respondents reported having had positive experiences with personal trainers, and nearly half had found group fitness classes that they enjoyed. So, despite the challenges, people are doing it. It is possible!

When exploring what respondents said contributed to a positive fitness experience, we heard the same things over and over: 

  • Body positive environment: In personal training, people preferred when they were helped to meet their own goals, without immediately focussing on weight loss. In group fitness, people enjoyed having modifications offered throughout the class for a variety of body types and dis/abilities, other patrons and trainers had diverse body types, and people were able to work out without fear of judgement.

  • Queer- and trans-friendly environment: People had good fitness experiences when gendered language was not used, when pronouns and preferred names were respected, and when they didn’t feel judged or harassed because of their identity.

  • Honouring the reason people were there to work out: While some respondents wanted to achieve weight loss goals or preferred a more competitive environment, many others weren’t interested in weight loss, preferred to feel supported, and only wanted to be pushed as hard as they were ready for. Working together with trainers to set and achieve a client’s own personal fitness goals, whatever they were, was a key factor that contributed to a positive fitness experience. 

While these factors may not come as a surprise while you read them, it can be helpful to hear others’ experiences to know what questions to ask while you are looking for a fitness space. Here are some we suggest as starting points; if staff or trainers at a gym or fitness space you’re considering are unwilling or unable to answer these questions you can use that to inform your choice. 

Personal trainers

  • How will you build your plan for me? When can we sit down to talk about my goals before we start?

  • Can we include exercises I will be able to continue on my own with no or minimal equipment? 

  • Do you focus on weight loss with many of your clients? How do you decide whether or not this is a goal?

  • How do you motivate your clients? What comes naturally to you? I want to make sure our styles and needs will be a good fit. 

  • What experience have you had working with [trans/queer/gay/etc] clients?

Group fitness spaces

  • How do your trainers motivate people during classes? 

  • What are the policies around touch and physical corrections during classes? How can I bring it up if a trainer breaks these policies during class? 

  • Are classes gendered? 

  • Have your trainers had education on using gender-neutral and body-positive language? 

  • Are movement modifications offered throughout all classes for different body shapes and fitness abilities? Will I be trusted to modify slightly to fit my body or take short breaks if my body needs it without being singled out by the trainer? 

You can also consider doing research online before reaching out to trainers or trying out gyms. A few respondents mentioned doing this and generally had good experiences with people and places that explicitly advertised themselves as queer- and trans-friendly and body-positive. 


Inclusive Fitness Environments

Is it normal to want a safe place to work out? Am I asking too much?  

Yes! It is absolutely normal and you are not asking too much! Just look at our survey responses. The vast majority of respondents said it was important for them to be able to access all-gender change rooms, for spaces to have clear harassment guidelines that are communicated and enforced, and to have gender-inclusive intake forms. In fact, most of our respondents identified all of these inclusive practices as ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ important: 

Categories are: Space being physically accessible; having a rainbow sticker on the door; advertisement of being a safer and affirming space online and in print; presence of visible minorities on staff; intake forms that were open-ended for gender an…

Categories are: Space being physically accessible; having a rainbow sticker on the door; advertisement of being a safer and affirming space online and in print; presence of visible minorities on staff; intake forms that were open-ended for gender and pronouns; signage on site clearly visible with anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies; staff training for 2SLGBTQ+ safety; trauma-informed staff; weight-neutral space; and gender-inclusive or non-gendered washroom and changeroom spaces.


Yes, that all does sound important! But my gym doesn’t have any of this stuff and I don’t want to change gyms.

Good news - there are lots of ways your gym can improve and learn, some of which can be done pretty quickly at limited cost! Chances are, however, that they’re not aware of some of the accessibility barriers that exist in their space and some of the improvements they can make. So, you or someone else you know might need to speak with them about it before any changes occur. When speaking with someone at your fitness space about accessibility concerns, consider the following tips:

  • Is there a specific staff member or owner/manager you feel comfortable bringing this to? If so, start by chatting with them. If you are comfortable speaking with multiple staff members, consider talking to someone who can make the changes you’re asking for.

  • Do you have friends or allies who attend the same gym/fitness space? Can they help you advocate for the changes you want to see, particularly if staff and management appear less receptive to change? 

  • Regardless of who you talk to, make sure you have concrete suggestions for what changes you’d like to see made in the space to make it more inclusive; and how those changes will benefit you and other 2SLGBTQ+ community members. Consider asking for some of the changes detailed above or reference some of the experiences that survey respondents reported as contributing to positive fitness experiences for them. 

  • Consider what information is most likely to influence the actions of staff, owners, and management. Will they be most interested in statistics demonstrating the size of the 2SLGBTQ+ population to show how many people might be impacted by changes? Would they be more interested in articles that demonstrate the importance of trauma informed practice, disability awareness, or body-positivity for working with queer and trans clients? Bring whatever information you feel will influence decision makers to implement the changes you want.


Okay. That sounds like a start. But what about some concrete suggestions I can make?

Based on the fitness accessibility experiences, concerns, and needs shared by survey respondents, the following are examples of concrete suggestions you can make to people working in your fitness space to improve accessibility:

Body Positive Approaches to Fitness

While weight can affect someone’s health, focusing too much on weight or focusing on weight loss “at all costs” can actually have a negative impact on someone’s physical and mental health. Many survey respondents said they’ve had negative experiences with fitness trainers or spaces that have focused too much on weight loss when it wasn’t one of their fitness goals. When these experiences happen, it can make it less likely that someone will continue to access fitness spaces or services.

If you feel as though approaches to physical fitness that focus too much on weight loss and body size has had or could have a negative impact on your ability to access physical fitness spaces and services, consider recommending that the fitness professionals at the space you use engage with more body positive or weight neutral approaches to physical fitness. A number of these approaches exist, one of which is Health At Every Size (HAES). HAES has three core components: 

“Respect: Celebrates body diversity; honors differences in size, age, race, ethnicity, gender, dis/ability, sexual orientation, religion, class, and other human attributes.

“Critical Awareness: Challenges scientific and cultural assumptions; values body knowledge and people’s lived experiences.

“Compassionate Self-care: Finding the joy in moving one’s body and being physically active; eating in a flexible and attuned manner that values pleasure and honors internal cues of hunger, satiety, and appetite, while respecting the social conditions that frame eating options.”

While there is debate about some of the claims made by some supporters of HAES, engaging with these approaches can expose fitness professionals to new perspectives and practices. These new perspectives and practices can help fitness professionals find a better balance between concerns about weight and health, and the needs and experiences of clients who’ve had body negative or fatphobic experiences in the past.

Body positive or weight neutral fitness approaches like HAES often offer training for fitness professionals and establishments. If you feel it’s important for fitness professionals in your space to learn more about these approaches, you may want to encourage them to look into different approaches and event sign up for a training so that they can develop policies and practices that take a more balanced approach to weight, weight loss, and health.

Trauma-Informed Approaches to Fitness

We know that many community members have experienced trauma, and that things like touch without consent, micro-aggressions, and misgendering can cause new trauma and make people revisit past trauma. Emotions stemming from this trauma, including a sense of helplessness, powerlessness, changed ability to self-regulate, and a decreased sense of safety, can affect how someone will respond to different situations, including in fitness spaces. If you are someone with a history of trauma, it’s likely that finding a fitness space with staff trained in trauma informed practice or care is important to you, much like it was for many of the people who responded to the survey.

While many people, might not understand how trauma can affect fitness accessibility or who feel that trauma informed practice or care is a specialized skill set only for therapists or healthcare providers, the truth is that trauma informed care or practice are relevant to a much broader field of work. Alberta Health Services’ (AHS) defines trauma informed care as “[understanding] how common trauma is and how it affects people. Then ... [putting] that knowledge into practice in your work.” It’s not too much to ask for something as simple as self-education and compassion from fitness staff. The great thing is that this education is low barrier. AHS has a great series of free and short online modules that fitness staff can access.

2SLGBTQ+ Self-Assessment Tool for Professionals

Many of the items from the previous chart are great places to start to enhance fitness space accessibility for 2SLGBTQ+ people. To address these items, one helpful tool you can share with a staff member from your fitness space is the “Self-Assessment Tool to Create Inclusive Fitness Spaces for Professionals”. This tool was developed to be used by fitness professionals to assess the accessibility of their space, identify areas for improvement, and implement recommended changes. We’ve also created a companion self-assessment tool for community members that you can use yourself first before discussing it with a fitness professional. Finally, you can direct a staff member from your fitness space to the version of the 2SLGBTQ+ Accessibility Report developed for professionals, which provides much more detail from the survey. All of these tools can be accessed by clicking here.


Wrapping Up

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Wow. That seems like a lot.

You’re right. That is a lot of work. Sometimes it can be easier to just … not address it. That’s a valid tactic. Several of our survey respondents who’ve had positive fitness experiences said they presented in their “expected” gender and/or didn’t explicitly come out so that they could stay safe and just be able to get through their workout. If that works better for you right now, that is totally fine. We wish you continued safety in your fitness and movement journey!

If you just want to take the Inclusive Training section of this report and use the information to help you find a fitness space that is already safe for you to work out in, that is also totally fine. We are crossing our fingers for you to find a place where you can experience joy in moving your body!

If you decide that you want to improve the accessibility of the fitness space of service you currently use, we hope the tips, recommendations, and resources provided above are helpful. However, we understand that not everyone has the energy or capacity to facilitate that change themselves. If you feel overwhelmed, have questions, or need support, don’t hesitate to reach out to the QTHC or your local pride or 2SLGBTQ+ organization for help. You’re not alone. We’re all in this together. It truly does take a village.