Fitness influencer Natalee Barnett has sparked uproar on social media after fundraising for a women-only gym and then appearing to go back on her word. Initially, Barnett had run a Go Fund Me page to contribute to the costs for a women-only gym. Now, with the gym due to open soon Barnett has backtracked by taking to social media to announce that only “biological women” will be welcome at the gym.
Natalee Barnett: U-turn
Natalee Barnett’s exclusion of trans women from women only spaces smacks of bigotry. How exactly Barnett plans to police such a policy remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that the influencer is a long way from her previous views. Pink News reported that in 2021 Barnett tweeted:
Respectfully, if you have a problem with trans women attending my gym then you can find another gym to train at. I have discussed this several times before, trans women are women and also a minority that need to be protected. Please keep your transphobia away.
In a since-deleted tweet, Barnett said in 2025:
The Girls Spot operates as a female-only gym for biological women, tackling harassment, sexual assault & violence that women face inside the gym.
The tweet circling was made 4 years ago and I was in the very early stages of creating a concept.
Natalee Barnett and her actions are a vain attempt at making money from a bigoted concept. Sure, maybe some TERFs might come along to her gym – but her actions lately have been a masterclass in showing herself up as an opportunistic influencer. Transphobic bigots have been hiding behind cries of women-only spaces as a way to exclude trans women. These cries usually come with a wave of pleading about women’s safety.
Let’s be clear – trans women are women. Trans people are not a threat to anybody. If anything, trans people are often statistically much more likely to experience violence than cause it. Cis women are not made safer by excluding trans women. And, Barnett’s actions are especially shameful in light of the harassment and targeting by cis women towards athletes they deem to be ‘masculine-looking’.
Both Caster Semenya and Imane Khelif have been the targets of concerted campaigns to punish them for looking ‘masculine.’ Women of colour are often accused of possessing ‘masculine’ features like broad shoulders, more body hair, and strong jawlines. Gender norms harm everybody – it takes a particular vicious mix of misogyny and transphobia to keep such a lie afloat.
On top of that, trans women must be able to exist safely in public spaces. Natalee Barnett’s exclusion of trans women is part of a wider attempt to discriminate against trans women.
Collected
Natalee Barnett has come in for swift backlash. Many categorised Barnett is in the “find out” stage of the popular aphorism, ‘fuck around and find out,’ to say nothing of the claims she made during fundraising for the gym as a trans-inclusive space:
accepting donations from people who were promised a trans inclusive gym and then pulling the rug from under them is certainly bold. but she’s currently in the fuck around stage and she’s gonna find out when all those fines for violating the equality act come through https://t.co/cRkgQcZRZU pic.twitter.com/aX9sFrqwAq
— sasha (@sashaeats4) March 10, 2025
And, as we mentioned previously, how exactly would Barnett go about ensuring “biological women” showed up to use the gym:
Not even being shady but opening a gym catering to only women and then excluding trans women is crazy because there’s no way you can police that. A GYM? What about female body builders? Are you gonna stop them because they don’t look fem enough? Trans men? pic.twitter.com/beufyVZ9lW
— The Freaky Frog! (@CoochieBeating) March 10, 2025
It’s almost as if bigots keep moving the goalposts:
First the “danger” was trans women in bathrooms.
Then it was trans women in sports, including darts and chess lol
Now we’re onto trans women in gyms.
Does anyone else notice a pattern here? Because it looks to me like you just don’t want trans women to exist in public.
— MEJA (@MejaActual) March 11, 2025
Plenty of other gyms
Barnett’s foolishness aside, there are many other women-only gyms that actually do what they say on the tin:
So many women’s only gym owners are uploading TikTok’s reaffirming that it’s inclusive for all women!!!
Here is one of them – go support! 🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/5gawfJrdjV
— Furgie | 🏳️🌈 (@furgieofficial) March 11, 2025
Natalee Barnett is likely to have a whole heap of trouble coming her way for promising a certain thing during fundraising, and then not delivering on the product once she has the money. But, whatever happens next, she’s thoroughly been gathered up by the internet for her transphobia and attempt at influencer clout.
What kind of paranoid dickhead wants to check people’s genitals so they can exercise at a gym!? There are more women-only spaces that aren’t built in bigotry, and if you’re still convinced trans women are a threat, maybe stay home and exercise your brain.
Women-only spaces that don’t include trans women are by definition not women-only spaces. The existence of trans people is not a danger to anyone – it’s just trans people fucking existing and minding their own business.
Featured image via screengrab
