Going to the gym should be a body-positive, confidence-building experience. However, for one woman in Ottawa, her last trip to the gym was anything but.
Jenna Vecchio was working out at Movati Athletic gym in Ontario. Like most every woman who works out, she was wearing a tank top and athletic pants. However, according to BuzzFeed, staff reproached her for wearing “inappropriate clothing” that was “offensive to both staff and other members” due to her large chest size.
Here’s the kicker—there was really nothing wrong with Vecchio’s outfit at all! In these pictures that she shared to Facebook, it’s pretty obvious that she’s not blatantly trying to dress “offensively” or to “show off.” Apparently, Vecchio went around to women and even asked them if they found her outfit inappropriate. “After asking every woman at the club who I could find on the way out if my attire offended them and they responded no, it became clear that the only ones offended were the two women supervisors working at the club today,” she wrote.
Vecchio also added pictures proving that Movati uses plenty of women in tank tops for its promotional posters. What’s the difference?
Hello Giggles reports that Vecchio left the gym that day feeling embarrassed. In a Facebook post gone viral, she expressed that she also felt as if she’d been discriminated against because of her body type.
“It is unfair to say that I cannot wear a tanktop and other women can!” she wrote in her post. “Different figures means different rules?”
Movati apparently conducted its own investigation following Vecchio’s Facebook post, which has been shared over 5,000 times. The gym told BuzzFeed that it conducted interviews with staff and a follow-up meeting with Vecchio.
“While it may not have been intentional, Ms. Vecchio’s attire was not as modest as she has suggested via the images she shared recently on Facebook and through media interviews, and caused multiple members to feel uncomfortable and voice their concerns to our staff,” Movati told BuzzFeed in a statement.
The gym further explained that it strives to focus on an environment that was healthy and welcome for all, regardless of fitness level or personal background.
Are you kidding me? Finding modest clothing can already difficult enough, and for women with larger chest sizes, finding something that both fits well and keeps us covered can seem next to impossible. Does Vecchio’s chest size exempt her from “welcome for all?”