The transgender community is a unique group in modern day society. Their biological gender rivals their mental and emotion state, causing inner conflict and public debate throughout common law. Can a man dress in a woman’s locker room if he identifies himself as a woman?

That was the controversy a Michigan Planet Fitness member raised, after she complained that a man in her locker room shouldn't be there, despite his identifying himself as a woman. When 48-year-old Yvette Cormier found a “huge” and “very manly” person wearing a wig and “a little bit of blush” in the locker room last Saturday, she immediately told the front desk she was uncomfortable. But Planet Fitness' official policy says gym-goers should use the locker rooms designated for the genders they identify as.

Cormier was told, "'If you're uncomfortable with that you can wait until he's done in there,'" she said, according to ABC News. I stood back and said, 'How about he waits until I'm done in the women's locker room. Or get a unisex bathroom.'” She followed up by calling Planet Fitness' corporate headquarters, who reiterated the company's slogan regarding the gyms being a “judgment-free zone." Cormier then had her membership revoked.

"I wouldn't have signed up for this gym if I knew that ahead of time," Cormier said, “[Planet Fitness is] failing to protect me if anything happens in those locker rooms with a man."

Acceptance of gender identity often conflicts with the possibility that there are some who seek to abuse the laws supporting it. By the gym’s rules, any man who throws on some rouge and calls himself a woman could walk into a woman’s locker room. This rule compromises both gym members' legitimate concerns and a transgender person's right to identify as the gender they feel comfortable with. How can society determine the legitimacy of a person’s physiological gender without going through some sort of vetting system?

Planet Fitness Director of Public Relations McCall Gosselin told ABC News the company is "committed to creating a non-intimidating, welcoming environment for our members. Our gender identity non-discrimination policy states that members and guests may use all gym facilities based on their sincere self-reported gender identity."

A person can realize they’re transgender at any age, but those who realize later in life struggle to fit into society adequately, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). There is no definable reason for the existence of transgender people, however, the APA says hormonal influences during pregnancy could lead to alternative gender identities later in life.

Transgender people are illuminating the biology and psychology of sex, and pressuring science and the governing laws to define them. Genitals are not the only way to identify a person’s gender, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to grapple with current policies and their complicated existence.