Man In Viral Gym Video Claims 'Self-Feminine Power' Justifies Women's Locker Room Access
Alexis Black had already been kicked out of two gyms prior to this incident
The trans-identifying male at the center of the viral Gold’s Gym locker room controversy says he doesn't understand why women don't want to undress around a stranger with male genitalia.
In a baffling interview with TMZ on Tuesday, Alexis Black — the individual who was confronted by Tish Hyman and other female gym-goers for repeatedly using the women's locker room at a Los Angeles gym — defended his behavior and insisted his "self-feminine power" should be enough to put everyone at ease.
Whatever that means.
Black confirmed that he still has male genitalia, saying a full medical transition "requires quite lengthy work." He did, however, undergo a procedure to remove some facial hair.
"I sat in a chair and had hair follicles removed from my face for two hours yesterday in a process called electrolysis," he explained. "In order to have that surgery down there… It's literally not even a possibility with where I am in my transition."
Black said he just began hormone therapy in February and registered at the gym as a female. So, in his view, the issue should be settled.
"I actually relinquished that information to [Tish Hyman] about, you know, my name change," Black said. "And it says female on my ID. And hormones. And, I mean, I'm registered as a female with the gym."
Oh, well in that case, come right in!
(Getty Images)
When host Harvey Levin asked this individual if he could understand Hyman's discomfort with being naked around someone with male anatomy, Black dismissed her concerns entirely.
"I certainly do not understand it," Black said. "But I do get the notion of the fear-mongering that she's perpetuating."
Black tries to paint Tish Hyman as a bully — someone acting "aggressively" toward him. Meanwhile, he lacks the self-awareness to see himself as the bully who demands access to women's private spaces, no matter how any of those women feel about it.
Male Gym-Goer Fires Back At Tish Hyman After Viral Locker Room Video
The TMZ interview comes just days after a viral video showed Hyman confronting Black at Gold's Gym Beverly Center, recently acquired by EōS Fitness. Hyman's membership was revoked following the incident. But the 42-year-old says Black has repeatedly entered the women's locker room and made lewd comments to her and other members.
And it's not just grown women who use this locker room, either. By Alexis Black's skewed logic, underage girls in the gym showers must also be OK with a grown man parading around with his penis on full display.
Accept it, ladies, or you're a bigot.
When Hyman suggested gyms should provide a third locker room for trans and non-binary-identifying individuals, Black rejected that, too — saying this solution is not feasible because some transgender people are female-to-male.
"That would necessitate two different [trans bathrooms], because some people are trans [male-to-female], some people go [female-to-male]. That's two rooms right there," Black said. "You're not gonna put a trans woman with a trans man just because we're trans. That seems like a whole new envelope of discrimination."
So suddenly, he acknowledges the need to separate males and females. But only when it works in his favor.
And if this clown show couldn't get any more absurd, here's the quote of the day:
"Am I entitled to it? I know that I'm a woman," Black declared. "Not everyone possesses this much self-feminine power."
I wish I could decode that one for you, dear readers. But I'm apparently not woman enough to understand what in the world this dude is talking about.
At the very end of the interview, Black casually mentions that he's already been "kicked out" of two other gyms — Planet Fitness and Crunch — proving a history of making women uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, California law permits individuals to access facilities, including locker rooms, that align with their gender identity. As such, gyms are not required to separate members based on biological sex.
But, based on this interview, it's hard to argue that Black's actions were rooted in good faith.
And no amount of red lipstick will convince me otherwise.