There is probably no justifiable reason why there would be a CCTV in a gym's changing room.

But there are bad responses, and then there are really bad responses.

On the defensive

A fiasco that drew public attention on March 15, 2019, occurred when Virgin Active Singapore wrote a Facebook post addressing the issue of supposedly having a CCTV in their changing room.

According to the gym, the CCTV pointed at a "communal area" where female members could pick up bathrobes.

The social media manager for Virgin Active then subtly promoted their membership package.

Footage from the camera was also uploaded in the same post:

Backlash

In the post's comments section, a number of Facebook users -- both members and non-members of the gym -- expressed their concern at being filmed in such a private space.

One of the main issues was the fact that many female members did not know that they were being filmed, as there was no clear sign in the area.

Furthermore, the area appears to be nestled among a number of facilities, which meant that females might move around with little to no clothing on.

As it is, a commenter who appears to be a member of the gym had previously assumed that the area was off camera:

She had retrieved a bathrobe from the area without wearing anything else, until a staff informed her of the camera.

As it is, another user claims to have seen other members walking "butt naked" in the area:

"Morally obligated to stay woke"

Despite the legitimate concerns brought up by numerous people, Virgin Active did not appear to be very much bothered.

The kicker, however, was the way the responded to a user named Adeline Ho:

Even as there was no clear assurance or line of reasoning in the reply, the gym went on to cite the celebration of body positivity "in the now times", being "morally obligated to stay woke", and being part of the #MeToo movement.

Ending with the argument that the onus should be on the gym members to be covered up on premises.

Ho, to her credit, replied rather calmly and to the point:

Subsequently, Virgin Active made a U-turn and assured Ho that a temporary sign has been placed, while a permanent one is on its way.

Another commenter, however, was not convinced.

The gym continues to defend it by saying it "leads to a communal space" -- a difference from their Facebook post, which originally stated that it is a communal space.

More people then called out Virgin Active for their rude and inappropriate response:

Original post here:

Top image via Virgin Active Singapore/Facebook

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