Virgin Active South Africa has announced its exit from social media app X. (Image via X/@VirginActiveSA)
- Earlier this year, Virgin Active decided to allow trans people to use changing rooms which affirm their new legally-recognised identities.
- The decision sparked a backlash from some social media users, who accused the company of putting its female clientele in danger.
- Following the backlash, Virgin Active deactivated its X account.
In April this year, Virgin Active announced that trans people could use the changing rooms which aligned with their legal gender.
“Virgin Active is committed to creating safe and inclusive spaces for all of our members. To ensure we achieve this, access to change rooms must correspond to a member’s legal gender identity. We welcome members of the transgender community at all our clubs and allow those who have completed their full medical transition to access bathrooms that correlate with their changed legal gender,” said the company on X.
They also went on to share:
Male members cannot access female-only spaces if they are still in transition. To ensure that we maintain this policy, members who have completed their transition must provide official identification documents reflecting their changed gender, issued by an appropriate authority. We also provide special needs/gender-neutral ablutions and facilities at most of our clubs for those who prefer a private space to change.
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The announcement resulted in backlash from social media users, who called the company out for not “protecting” its female customers.
Many angry app users threatened to boycott the gym company.
Due to the backlash, the fitness company announced that it would permanently deactivate its X account.
“Hey @X, we need to talk. About you. When we first met, you were sharp, witty [and] playful. We were literally obsessed. But you’ve changed. Slowly shapeshifting from a social platform into a seething, malignant cesspool over time. We’ve come to realise that we want different things,” they wrote.
“We want our community to feel safe, healthy and positive, and you prefer drama, conflict and negativity. So, we will be ending this toxic situationship on 30 June and taking things to the next level on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn. It’s not us, it’s you.”
Hey @X, we need to talk. About you. When we first met, you were sharp, witty & playful. We were literally obsessed. But you’ve changed. Slowly shapeshifting from a social platform into a seething, malignant cesspool over time. We’ve come to realise that we want different things. pic.twitter.com/lVoDVFhfvY
— Virgin Active (@virginactiveSA) June 26, 2024
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As expected, the post attracted several comments from app users, who accused the company of “running” from the backlash.
“Cancelled every gym membership for my entire family. Frankly, Virgin, it’s you who has morphed into an entity incapable of distinguishing reality from fantasy, and you utterly fail to ensure the safety of women, thereby becoming a seething, malignant cesspool. The iron law of woke projection never misses, ever,” one person wrote.
Another commented: “Are you perhaps complaining about the backlash you got for allowing predators into the female restroom area? Yeah, I have news for you; it’s not @X. It’s you.”
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