Ottawa gym 'humiliates' woman by saying her breasts are 'too large' for tank top

The woman said she felt the gym discriminated her based on her figure

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An Ottawa woman has called out a local gym after one staffer told her that her breasts were “too large” to wear a tank top on premises.

Jenna Vecchio told Metro News that the Movati Athletic staff member said she could finish her exercise session if she covered up her chest with a T-shirt. But she left the gym without getting a full workout.

“I said I can’t help it that my chest may appear larger than some other women’s here because of my small frame, but I can’t do anything about it,” Ms Vecchio said.

Movati athletic clubs say their members “Feel Welcome, Feel Healthy, Feel Comfortable” in the motto - but Ms Vecchio was feeling anything but.

“I felt humiliated. I was made to feel uncomfortable. I felt degraded,” she said.

Ms Vecchio posted her complaint to Facebook, which included photos of the attire she was wearing at the Movati, as well as screenshots from the gym’s website that include other women wearing similar tank tops.

“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,” she wrote. “THIS IS DRESS CODE DISCRIMINATION. DIFFERENT FIGURES DOES NOT MEAN DIFFERENT RULES!”

A spokesperson for Movati said that the gym was responding to complaints from other members about Ms Vecchio’s clothing.

“[W]hen some members of our gym voiced complaints regarding Ms Vecchio’s attire as it made them feel uncomfortable and was seen as being contrary to our dress code policy our staff assessed the situation and spoke to [her],” said Ottawa area director Sean Whittal.

“While in no way did we intend to embarrass her, we did feel we had to address the issue.”

He explained that the gym’s dress code requires members wear “modest athletic attire”, which did not include Ms Vecchio’s tank top.

Ms Vecchio has since canceled her gym membership at Movati.