Countywide : Male Activist Sues Weight-Loss Salons

Six years after he forced Disneyland to give up its ban on dancing by same-sex couples, activist Andrew Exler is attacking another form of gender-based exclusion: a diet program for women only.

Upset that he was barred from Gloria Marshall Figure Salons’ weight-loss program, Exler sued the Long Beach-based chain in Orange County Superior Court on Monday, contending that its female-only policy violates the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which forbids discrimination by businesses on the basis of sex, race or religion.

Exler, 29, of Palm Springs, seeks $1 million in punitive damages and a court order forcing the salons to admit him.

“She’s making a profit by discriminating,” said Exler, a paralegal who plans to begin law school next year. “That shouldn’t be permitted.”

Gloria Marshall, who founded the chain in 1966 and now operates 10 outlets in Orange and Los Angeles counties and another 48 in Australia, defended her membership policy, saying that women and men have different weight-loss needs.

Exler has crusaded for men’s rights and gay rights since he won a 1984 court order striking down a Disneyland policy that permitted only male-female couples to dance together. He has sued nightclubs in Los Angeles and Cathedral City for refusing to let him watch male strip shows and another in Hollywood because it denied him free admission on “miniskirt night.”

Exler’s clash with the salons began May 3, when he decided that he would like to drop 35 pounds. A Gloria Marshall newspaper ad promised a 20-pound weight loss by Memorial Day. Exler was undaunted by the tag line that said “for women only.”

Exler charges that he telephoned Gloria Marshall salons in Westminster, Torrance, Lakewood, West Covina and Cerritos but was refused membership because of his gender.

Marshall said her program, which combines low-impact exercise with menu planning and behavior modification, is tailored for women’s needs. It is “gentler” than most, focusing on stretching and firming muscles and trimming the thighs, buttocks and waistline, not on building bulk in the chest and arms, which many men seek, Marshall said.

The women-only policy is also designed to protect the feelings of her clients, she said.

“When you’re overweight, it’s a very sensitive area,” she said. “You’re not interested in disrobing in front of men. The women here are even uncomfortable undressing in front of other women at first.”