Voices: No one should shame a girl’s body — especially not a gym

It’s up to no one to tell a woman how her body should look — especially not a place that is supposed to promote health.

“This is no shape for a girl” a Gold's Gym franchise based out of Egypt posted on its Facebook page next to an image of a pear. Cue the appropriate online outrage, to which, the franchise responded:

"our apology, this post was not meant to offend anyone, and not against god's creation, or any type of women's body, it was meant to refer to a Healthy Fit body and cutting fats, NOT THE ACTUAL STRUCTURE OF THE BODY.

So Again our Apology. for all the women out there."

As one of “the women out there,” apology not accepted. It took four days for the image and body shaming language to come down, even after the franchisors at Gold’s Gym stepped in.

Before then, the image was shared again and again, with the message directed to girls, the group the most vulnerable to eating disorders. (Unless the gym meant women. In which case, they should call women what they are — women.)

Gold’s Gym Dreamland, let me tell you a little bit about “girls."

This summer, I met two beautiful baby girls, brand new to this world. One was five months old, the other just 20 hours. As I looked into their eyes for the first time, I was lost, wondering what they thought, who they’d become, what they had awaiting them in life. Lost in their newness to the world, I forgot that in a few short years, someone is going to have to teach them how to love themselves — because it won’t be easy. And things like this Facebook post make it even harder.

For Mother’s Day, first-time mother Alia Dastagir reflected on what it was like to see her beautiful baby, noticing how jaded she’d become about her own body. She wrote about her daughter’s gaze:

"She wants me to believe the lush dimples buried in her thighs are superior to the harsh lines of a hungry body. But as a woman, I know to never be satisfied with my figure, my face, myself. The relentless pursuit of emaciation is codified."

The National Eating Disorder Association reports that 42% of first to third-grade girls want to be thinner, 81% of 10-year-old girls are afraid of being fat and 70% of women between 18 and 30 don’t like their bodies. Not one of them should see a viral post from a gym, a place that claims to be centered around health, telling them that their bodies — if pear shaped, or any other shape — are not okay.

Eating disorders disproportionately affect women and girls. Approximately 90-95% of those with anorexia nervosa and 80% of those with bulimia are female, the National Eating Disorder Association found.

The Gold’s Gym about us page claims that at their facilities, "you’ll find an energetic, supportive environment full of all kinds of people who are committed to achieving their goals.” That’s what we need. That’s not at all what this post encourages.

So to all the girls out there: Run, jump, play, sit, read — be you. Don’t listen to places like this Gold’s Gym, or any other person who has an opinion on your body. That’s between you and your doctor. I’ll be joining a gym where I can go to feel empowered. And maybe, when those two babies grow up, I’ll bring them along too, to show them how strong and healthy their wonderful bodies can be.

Update: Gold's Gym has issued an apology on behalf of the franchise and the overall brand. The company is terminating its agreement with the franchise and it is reviewing procedures for how franchisees create and share social media posts "so that nothing like this ever happens again." They continue in their post: "We are mothers, sisters & daughters too and this is unacceptable. We understand that as a brand with a presence in 30 countries, we have a responsibility to spread a message of empowerment."

Now that's an apology — and an action plan — that I can accept. Read it in full here.