12/9/21

Transgender woman Christynne Wood wins lawsuit against Crunch Fitness

Christynne Wood a transgender woman from El Cajon, California has won a settlement after Crunch Fitness denied her the use of the ladies' changing room.

Christynne valued her gym as she had undergone Angioplasty and was told by her doctor in order to never have that happen again she needed to adopt a healthy lifestyle.


Christynne, a member of Crunch Fitness began to take exercise seriously and lost 100 lbs. 

But nine years into her membership, when she informed the gym’s management that she was in the process of transitioning to female, Wood’s relationship with Crunch radically changed. Management refused to allow her use of the women’s locker room and restroom, even though that was clearly her right under California law. 

 “I feel elated and validated to finally reach resolution in this case,” Wood said. “I hope the settlement helps the owners of Crunch and other gyms appreciate the importance of respecting transgender people’s identities. It’s not only our legal right, but also could save a life.” 

 The discrimination Christynne experienced is not unusual; a study conducted by the Williams Institute at UCLA found that nearly 70 percent of transgender people have experienced discrimination when trying to use public restrooms. And it’s against the law in California. 

The Unruh Civil Rights Act bans discrimination based on “a person’s gender identity and gender expression,” and goes on to define gender expression as “a person’s gender-related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.”

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