In the wild and wonderful world of the so-called progressive movement, there’s never a dull moment, it seems. Take, for instance, the scene at a California Gold’s Gym where the latest battle for the title of most oppressed took an unexpected turn. Picture this: a black woman, who identifies as bisexual or queer, found herself in a heated confrontation with a transgender woman in the women’s locker room. A real textbook case of a progressive predicament, wouldn’t you say?
Apparently, things got a bit out of hand when the black woman noticed what she believed was a man – who identified as a woman – in the locker room while she was, shall we say, in a less-than-decent state. Feeling her privacy invaded, she promptly took a stand, voicing her discomfort and asking why someone who didn’t fit her idea of a woman was in the women’s space. And just like that, the intersectional hierarchy took yet another spin of the wheel.
What’s a progressive to do when the hierarchy of oppression seems to get tangled up on its own? In this scenario, the gym made the decision to revoke her membership instead of siding with her. That’s right, she lost her privileges for allegedly taking pictures and/or videos in the locker room, which is against gym policy. It seems there’s a new rulebook being written at these spots, one where discomfort is dealt with via a swift kick to the curb rather than a constructive conversation.
Of course, if you’re a part of the political left these days, this sort of scenario can throw you into a frenzy of confusion. Intersectional politics have a funny way of making everyone feel like they have the moral high ground, and yet, not everyone can be a winner in the game of who’s-actually-more-oppressed-than-whom. In this case, it seems that the hierarchy tipped in favor of the transgender woman, leaving others to wonder if perhaps this whole oppression Olympics is trickier to judge than originally thought.
In the end, the whole affair was a perfect storm of mixed messages and unresolved feelings. The black woman may have left the gym without membership privileges, but she walked out with her principles intact. She and many like her will continue to question how fairness and inclusivity should truly coexist without trampling on anyone’s rights. Meanwhile, everyone else might just be left scratching their heads, wondering how on earth anyone will ever be able to keep up with the ever-changing rules of progressive politics.
