A woman has called out a gym for having double standards after being told she'd have to cover up or leave.
Julia Maren, 29, was working out at her local gym when she was asked to remove her headphones. Once taken off, she was told by a member of staff that she needed to cover up her midriff with a T-shirt or leave the gym.
The woman, from Tennessee, explained that the gym - which she does not name - offered to provide her a T-shirt if necessary.
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The ordeal sparked Julia to post a photo of the offending outfit on Instagram, seeing her wearing a standard pair of high-waisted khaki gym leggings and a standard black sports top.
"Today I was told I'd have to leave the gym if I didn't put a shirt on with no explanation," she wrote. "My workout was interrupted and I was told to take out my headphones for someone to tell me they could 'get me a shirt if I need one' and that if I wanted to continue my workout I had to put one on.... WHAT?!
"So you're telling me that because three inches of my waist is exposed that I'm not welcome in the gym but meanwhile f*cking Chad is over there with a cutout that shows his whole nipple? Got it. Thank you for taking time out of your day to let me know that double standards and sexism still exists."
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Julia continued: "If the problem is that I will be a distraction, why isn't the accountability on the one who is distracted?
"This is a deep rooted issue because I could EASILY talk about middle school uniform policies, prom dress codes, and evidently gym attire. When will we stop policing women's bodies and HOLD THE OTHER'S ACCOUNTABLE FOR SEXUALISING THEM.
"And WHEN will we start ALLOWING women to feel comfortable enough in the gym to wear whatever the f*ck is comfortable to them in an otherwise already uncomfortable environment?!"
The gym-goer finished by saying defiantly: "All I'm saying is that I'm showing up in a bro tank with my nipple out next time."
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Julia also cited a study by Fitness Magazine from 2019 that found 65 per cent of women avoid the gym for fear of being judged, as opposed to only 36 per cent of men.
"Do you realise what this statistic suggests? That women are automatically more cautious about what they wear to the gym to avoid criticisms and negative comments," said Julia.
Julia's comment section was flooded with comments of support.
"That's ridiculous that they even thought it, let alone had the audacity to say something to you!," wrote one person.
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"This is unbelievable We don't live in the '30s anymore. You look amazing. Nothing wrong," said another.
"You look stunning, the person who asked you this was definitely jealous," opinions a third.
And there's us thinking we were living in 2020... Sigh.
Featured Image Credit: @letterstoadel/Instagram