Advertisement
When Jenna Vecchio headed to her local gym, Movati Athletic Gym, she thought she would simply complete her usual workout before heading home again.
Not long after Vecchio started her workout, however, she was stopped by a gym employee and asked to leave the gym because her clothing was "inappropriate."
Vecchio had been wearing very standard athletic attire: a tank top and athletic pants. Many other women in the club at the time were also wearing similar - if not the same - clothes as her.
The only difference Vecchio observed was that her tank top was tighter. "My chest size is much larger in appearance in comparison to my frame than many of the other women," she wrote on her Facebook later that day.
Vecchio tried to point this out to the gym employees, but they insisted that her chest size was precisely what had made her attire offensive.
Affronted, Vecchio decided to approach other women who had been exercising near her, asking them if they'd been offended by her clothes. All of them said no.
"I felt humiliated and discriminated against due to my figure," Vecchio wrote. "I was singled out and it is unfair to say I cannot wear a tank top and other women can!
"Different figures means different rules? I would like to bring this out to the public! If tank tops are not allowed at the gym for me because of my chest size than all women should not be allowed to wear tank tops regardless of size."
Her Facebook post got the attention of thousands - both men and women - all of whom voiced their support for her.
Movati Athletic Gym released a statement after Vecchio's story went viral, saying that Vecchio shared a photo of herself wearing a different top than the one she'd worn that day to the gym.
"We stand by the original decision that confirms that Ms. Vecchio was dressed inconsistently with our code of conduct," the company stated. "The Movati staff never indicated Ms. Vecchio’s style of shirt was not appropriate – it was the lack of coverage that was the issue as she exercised adjacent to other members."
Thankfully, it doesn't seem like anyone - not Vecchio or others who've heard her story - is accepting this apology.