HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio)—The Connecticut Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on whether women-only workout areas at gyms are prohibited under state laws on public accommodations.
The case "Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities v. Edge Fitness LLC et al" stems from complaints from two men who allege that the women-only spaces at Edge Fitness and Club Fitness gyms violate Connecticut's laws on prohibiting sex discrimination.
The attorney for Edge Fitness James Shae said the women-only workout areas serve as a safe space for women who feel uncomfortable or sexually objectified when exercising around men.
According to a psychologist's testimony, Shae said the feeling of being objectified arises simply out of women exercising in the presence of men which decreases performance and causes anxiety and discomfort.
"And so the women's only area is really only intended to protect women from that and to further the purposes of the public accommodations statute by integrating a traditionally male-dominated environment," Shae said.
Attorney Michael Roberts represents the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities on behalf of the two men. He stresses that it is still sex-based discrimination.
The state's public accommodations statute prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, Roberts said, "and was intended not only to eliminate discrimination against women but to eliminate sex discrimination all together."
Justices on the State Supreme Court considered several different aspects of the case, such as the precedent that could be set by allowing discrimination on the basis of sex, the implications the case could have on transgender and non-binary individuals, and the accommodations these spaces provide for women of Muslim and Jewish faiths who are forbidden from exercising with men.
The high court continues to consider the case.
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