You have obviously never been in a gay gym locker room.
I've not seen this elaborated on further but perhaps I've missed it, could you please provide further clarification as to what you mean? As a homosexual, cis-gendered male, I have to say I recoil at the apparent assertion that despite the fact that I've a natural attraction to the male body that I seem to be unable to control the impulse (or are "ruled by their hormones") to look at attractive men in the locker room, even amongst other gay individuals (given that you clarify "gay gym locker"). As has been mentioned, you have the ability to control this alleged insult to check out attractive individuals, it is simply good decency and respectful to avoid being perverse, and if one does so it won't be long before complaints are justifiably being raised. Ultimately, I'm in there to have a shower and get changed so I can either move onto the gym/pool, or head into the pool for a swim, trying to catch a perverted sly glimpse of the hulking beauty in the corner is the least of my concern. Simply going on my own personal experience, be it a male changing room, a unisex changing room, or a changing room with exclusively gay individuals located within it (and I have been in this due an event with my college's society involving a tag rugby league) the assertion you are making rings hollow.
It is not normal behaviour to be unable to control a desire to look at somebody you find attractive, just as it is not normal behaviour to be unable to control any other impulse towards an individual you find attractive, regardless of where both the individual you find attractive and yourself lie upon the gender spectrum. Do some individuals not control this instinct? Yes, but to state it is the normal response seems outrageous, and anybody who didn't would have complaints raised against them for their disrespectful behaviour.
That's dangerous. here's a reason why separated bathrooms exist, the rape and harassment potential is too damn high to take the risk, not to mention health concerns.
I'm actually torn on this issue, pre-op transgendered people are really a grey area for lots of people.
What is the reason that they have existed? The first indication of gender-segregated bathrooms arose in 1739 at a ball in Paris (
http://www.sulabhtoiletmuseum.org/history-of-toilets/ and
https://www.academia.edu/681109/Unisex_Toilets_and_the_Sex-Elimination_Linkage) but only became commonplace once a law was past in 1887 when Massachusetts passed a law mandating segregated bathrooms (
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/..._outdated_relic_of_victorian_paternalism.html) because of gender-theory concept suggested women "were “unable to
[physically] withstand strains, fatigues, and privations as well as
[men]" (CFW Doehler) and becaues of Victorian-era concepts relating to the purity of womanhood, the emergence of germ-theory which indicated it was unsanitary to do one's business whenever one pleased, and a puritan feeling that bodies, and bodily functions, should be kept as private, unspoken, and hushed activities. For the vast majority of human history, gender segregation in the 'bathroom' (while excreting) was not a thing, and most certainly did not arise solely out of safety concerns as you seem to be suggesting, and many unisex bathrooms and locker rooms exist worldwide.
Yet even still, regarding safety concerns, this still seems to be an inherently flawed justification as it relies on an implicit belief that men are predatory, and that individuals who reside elsewhere on the gender spectrum must be 'protected' from these individuals, regardless of circumstances, or are inherently more fragile (see the common supposition of a young female being momentarily exposed to another female with a penis but rarity of a mention of a young male being momentarily exposed to a male with a vagina, and the constant reference to a female with a penis in a female changing room but the rarity of the mention of a male with a vagina in the male changing room [obviously ignoring individuals who are post-operation if they choose to have this as few seem to care]). While it is absolutely true that cisgendered women are heavily affected by sexual assault, and non-cisgendered individuals are heavily discriminated against in public spaces (there is indeed a truth, individuals not cisgendered suffer huge discrimination
http://www.transgenderlaw.org/resources/transfactsheet.pdf), this should not be seen as 'the' reason to avoid unisex bathrooms, ultimately, the only protection being offered by gender segregated bathrooms that promote the gender-binary is a simple sign on the door. If somebody, anybody, is going into the location with ill intent, the idea that the sign itself will sever as some sort of magical, unbreakable ward seems truly bizarre.
The role it has on a non-binary individual, too, cannot be overstated. An individual earlier on asked something along the lines of how you should explain to a child that a female has a penis, and if one wants to have to explain this to a child. As an individual who is privileged to identify as the gender that I was born as, who does not face discrimination on a near-daily basis because of my gender identity, my answer is indeed yes, I do wish for our world to be a place where this can be discussed openly with the next generation, so that if they, or a descendant of mine (biological or otherwise), identify elsewhere on the gender spectrum, may be happy with who they are and avoid the persecution that people face in our society today (in fact I'd hope they'd grow up in a time when there's no need to ask). Bathrooms and locker rooms are a place today where gender segregation is not only accepted, but embraced based upon flimsy and unsupported scientific studies which suggest a correlation between safety and gender segregation in the locker room/bathroom environment, where individual are discriminated against on a daily basis, and forced to choose their gender, even if they do not identify as either male or female. I have witnessed first hand, numerous times, the damage this can do to an individual's self-esteem, self-confidence, and sense of identity on a continual basis is simply unacceptable, and how much of a barrier this can serve a young non-cisgendered individual from living in the manner that they wish to, but there is no need to rely upon my own anecdotal experience; the statistics previously mentioned paint a horrible picture of the discrimination that is experienced, some pronounced (physical abuse, verbal abuse, etc.), and some subtle, culturally engrained existences of discrimination (such as gender binary/segregated bathrooms and changing areas).
The hypothetical of a male pretending to be female to perve on, and harass, women is simply absurd. I've searched extensively for occurrences of this and I must confess I've not found an actual documented case yet. This seems to have no basis other than being a scare flimsy scare tactic that seems to have a not-so-subtle link to the idea that some individuals are sly, simply faking their gender dysphoria to carry out a harmful, destructive scheme, and is a harmful attitude to have that villifies non-cisgendered individuals. Will every non-cisgendered individual go into the bathroom which they identify as (assuming they are born as either male or female)? No, some may fear persecution, some may fear judgement, and some may still be coming to terms with their own identity, but they should certainly be allowed to use which they feel to be best suited to them. The reality is that if an individual is acting perverted in a changing area or bathroom, this is the issue, nothing else.
Another reality, however, is that it is not simply non-cisgendered individuals harmed by gender separation. A parent with a child who identifies as a different gender identity to the parent is forced between which to take them in, or whether to use separate changing rooms/bathrooms to avoid the judgement. An elderly cisgendered couple where one of the individuals requires some degree of assistance are forced to choose which bathroom/changing room to use. A parent with a young child who is forced to change their child will have to do so within the bathroom, however many male facilities lack the facilities to do so and are required to use the female bathroom. It's a problem that, subtly, may affect many cisgendered individuals, yet it is non-cisgendered individuals who feel the brunt of discrimination in this setting (and I didn't get to it, but hygiene issue are silly, increase the frequency if cleaning).
Of course, a reality is that many building laws and permits require gender segregated bathrooms so it cannot be an immediate change by any means, and I wouldn't naively think it wouldn't require many, many years of change and a cultural shift away from commonly perceived views of gender, but I don't think the claim that there's a reason they're segregated is remotely true..
So the transition is overall much easier (at least physically)? That's interesting.
What about pre-transition though? Say a transman is indistinguishable from a woman in the eyes of the greater public. In the overarching discussion of safety, should they be expected to use the men's locker room? Or is that such an outlier that such a situation would never come up?
There are quite a few non-cisgendered males within local college societies which I am connected to, so, respecting their privacy as best as I can, the individuals overwhelmingly would rather, and do, use the male changing/locker rooms/bathrooms, as they are a male, pre-transition (and let me state that I have never, and will never, ask about the extent of surgery which has been done, that is absolutely, one hundred percent out of line, and intrusive, and wears on ones mental fortitude when it's encountered daily; I do know some have had breast reduction surgery and hormone therapy, but surgery involving the genitalia is nobody's business but their own, and I only know this much because he was featured on a show regarding transgender individuals) or post-op. The only time that has been reported to me that they did not accept who they were, or wished to hide it from the public in fear of discrimination, but as soon as they identified, and accepted that they were male, they used the male locker rooms/changing rooms and male bathroom facilities, but would vastly prefer gender-neutral facilities to be introduced (either by simply removing gender-specific signs on bathroom doors and simply labeling them as a bathroom, or by opening an additional gender neutral facility [yet not non-cisgendered only, this is a major and important difference] which anybody can use; the unisex facilities however are seen as the ultimate goal rather than having three bathroom 'types' as this still is quite unnecessary).
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Just as a general comment regarding this instance, I can understand the woman's discomfort, we exist in a society where gender and sex are viewed as equivalent by most, and the gender spectrum (and spectrum of sexual orientations) are poorly understood, however as Besada has noted within the thread earlier, there is a huge difference between initially feeling uncomfortable as this woman who had her membership cancelled did without any knowledge, having it explained to her by the staff, and then still voicing her discriminatory and hurtful views, and taking further action against the non-cisgendered female; the latter is simply not acceptable regardless of circumstances and Planet Fitness absolutely made the correct call, the claim of victimisation is hilarious.
