A week or so ago a survey was sent out regarding the idea of having "Women's Only Fitness Center Hours". What do yall think about this? The fitness center is...the place with the bikes and treadmills right, not the weightroom. I think it's kind of a weird idea to be honest. But then again I'm also a guy and when I go to the Fitness Room I really only see women there anyway for the most part.
Googlin' the topic, it seems like a lot of nice gyms have women-only fitness rooms, but I think that our facility is probably too small for such a thing. I also sortof think it divides the campus maybe? And who makes the call regarding who is a woman, where to trans people fall, or people who identify as female regardless of their body?
What do yall think?
The fitness center is the weight room, the bikes / treadmills are the cardio area. I think it's addressing the overwhelmingly male population of the weight room and subsequent hestitation of women to use it.
ReplyDeleteNot that weird, my gym and most of them in the area have women only sections, usually with free weights and some extra cardio machines. Haven't heard of it on a college campus though.
ReplyDeleteOooo thank you anonymous for that clarification. Well that makes more sense.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, Matt I think it's a common thing at gyms with paid memberships, and probably at Universities.
I have heard of colleges that had large muslim populations having women only gym times because the women wanted to be able to work out comfortably and if there were men present they needed to cover up. I think it would be interesting to try but I am not sure how it would go here.
ReplyDeleteI can understand why some women would want this but considering how the ARC's hours have already been reduced and it is not that big of an operation it would be unfair to implement this during peak hours.
ReplyDeletePerhaps if the ARC could stay open later or open earlier or have more weekend hours then those could be for women only.
Well that seems unfair to have women-only hours when nobody wants to use the gym. Then you'd only have one or two people using it, negating the need to have women-only hours.
ReplyDeleteI've heard a number of women discussing it, actually. A lot of the girls on campus feel intimidated by the guys in the weight room, and a lot of them just don't know how to use the equipment. And maybe people are intimidated because of the combination of bulky dudes lifting and grunting AND not knowing how to use the equipment. Maybe the MPOARC should spend that time/money on educating people about how to use the equipment? I don't think it's really all that feasible to do something like a women's only hour outside of big fancy pay-for-your-membership gyms.
ReplyDeleteWell that's assuming that no women use the fitness center
ReplyDelete@Kristina I think the ARC staff all know how to use the equipment and are there to help people out...but I could be way off regarding that.
ReplyDeleteHaha I mean personally I don't have any problems, this is just what I overheard in the lady-friendly abs room the other day!
ReplyDeleteour campus preaches equality, but everyone seems to want seperate perks for seperate social groups and categories, like housing for women of certain majors and womens only gym hours... blah blah
ReplyDeleteas a woman, i want to be treated EQUALLY i.e. i want the same amount of opportunity. this reverse chauvinism is just as bad as overt sexism.
also, as women, we should be proud of our bodies and confident in our abilities, whether athletic or non-athletic.
so ladies, get your asses in the weight room. who cares if there's guys in there? seriously.
Righ right, moreso just throwing that out there for anyone who is intimidated by the machines/other stuff there
ReplyDeleteWell the housing for women of certain majors is more so a way of creating a living-learning environment, as you also earn credit. But I guess I see your point of it only being women.
ReplyDeleteAlso ugh wish more people used names (fake or otherwise) so that it were easier to respond and less confusing
ReplyDeleteYou can say "@Anonymous 3:06PM" or something.
ReplyDeleteActually, my biggest complaint in the gym is less about the boys and more about the girls who only wear leggings to work out in. For some reason, people don't seem to understand that a lot of leggings are actually really thin and totes not approps for an environment like that. I've been super uncomfortable in yoga before, because when I've glanced up to figure out what kind of stretch we're supposed to do and gotten and eyeful of see-through leggings plus white lace thong instead.
ReplyDeleteTessa
To be frank, being intimidated by all the guys benching 225, etc. isn't really an excuse to a. not go in there or b. petition womens only time. Before I started lifting I felt weird about being in there too, but the guys in there are just there to lift. I'm not saying womens only areas in gym don't have any place anywhere, but at some point you need to get over being intimidated by other people and just do what you need to do.
ReplyDeleteI think if the school tried it out, even just once for experiment's sake, they'd see a lot more women in the weight room. If not, then there's no problem = doesn't need fixing. If there is, then something should be done about it.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just that there's grunting bulky dudes in the weight room all the time, it's that there's usually groups of grunting bulky dudes in the weight room all the time. Walking in as the only girl (which is how it's always been when I've gone) is just uncomfortable. Even if you don't feel watched, judged or mocked, you still feel left out!
I don't think it would hurt anyone to have an hour a day for people who identify themselves as "women" to have free reign of the weight room. For those of us who don't do it that often, it'd give us the chance to gather and do it together. Like a workout-learning environment. We like those, right?
@tessa yes! girls please wear actual pants/shorts. leggings are NOT pants.
ReplyDeleteWomen only hours promotes sexual division among men and women; it's a step in the wrong direction. If women feel uncomfortable working in the gym then that's the issue that needs to be addressed, rather than creating a workaround that doesn't address the real problem. I'm all about gender equality, not gender division.
ReplyDeleteBesides, our gym is too small and the hours too limited for this to feasibly work. Extending the hours wouldn't be that helpful either, because women, just like men, want to do their workouts when they're convenient, i.e. during the day.
Comon' people, let's be adults, share, work through our anxieties, and just get a good workout!
David
can then just increase the weekend times? that would be better for everyone.
ReplyDeleteThere's no money to increase the hours of operation, and I think David has a good point regarding addressing the problem of feeling uncomfortable in these sorts of situations. But I don't know how that would be accomplished obviously.
ReplyDelete@tessa and anonymous (3:51) - i agree wholeheartedly. leggings are not pants and should never be worn without something over them. also, i am not a fashionista or anything, but this jeggings trend needs to die.
ReplyDeleteand i guess commenting on the actual topic - i think having women only fitness center hours would be nice because it would give women a more comfortable environment to work out in. sure you can say that women should just "get over being intimidated by other people," but that could be pretty much impossible for many and giving them a couple hours where they won't feel so judged for doing the same thing as everyone else could really benefit them.
as a woman and as a gym user, I don't think these women-only hours are necessary at all. yes, I'm intimidated to go into the weight room when there are guys working out in there but that's not because they're guys; that's because I'm self-conscious and insecure about my body. If the weight room was full of girls, I personally would still have those same issues. Women-only hours just reinforce gender difference and the idea that women are somehow weaker than men. We need to be moving closer to gender-blindness and this does the opposite
ReplyDeleteGender blindness is no good. Unlike racial blindness (biologically identical), women and men are not biologically identical. Should we have the same bathrooms to?
ReplyDeletethink these women only hours are a great idea. I know women go to the gym just to work out, not to get hit on by guys, and guys do the same thing. However, when you're working out with the opposite gender, sometimes you can't help but trying to show off or being self-conscious about what they think about your ass.
I've always been pro-gender neutral bathrooms. I don't really understand the need for separation.
ReplyDeleteI think there does need to be something put in place that makes the weight room more accessible and open to groups that feel intimidated by the big bulky guys that I usually see in there. I have nothing against them and am sure most of them are great people, but as a female who has no upper body strength, little experience lifting weights and a history of self-consciousness in terms of my body image, they are really, really intimidating-- so much so that I haven't even ever considered going to the weight room.
ReplyDeleteYou could say that I should just go there once to see that they're not really intimidating, but it's really hard to build up that courage. If something were put in place so that I knew how to use the equipment and knew that I was welcome to share the facility, I would be more comfortable utilizing it. To be honest, I wasn't even sure the weight room was open to everyone-- I used to think it was just for sports groups!
All that being said, I don't think women's only hours work because there are other groups who might feel equally intimidated (men who are self-conscious, transwomen or transmen, etc.). I don't know... it's complicated, admittedly. :\
"Gender blindness is no good. Unlike racial blindness (biologically identical), women and men are not biologically identical. Should we have the same bathrooms to?"
ReplyDeleteDifferent races are not biologically identical (uh, no one is, otherwise we'd all be clones). The differences are just not significant or attributable to race. The women/men is a social construct based off of probability, not a biological fact. Also, yes, yes we should have gender neutral bathrooms.
think these women only hours are a great idea. I know women go to the gym just to work out, not to get hit on by guys, and guys do the same thing. However, when you're working out with the opposite gender, sometimes you can't help but trying to show off or being self-conscious about what they think about your ass.
This is not a good argument, but let's go with it. How about lesbians? Are you concerned with other women thinking about your ass as you're working out in a women's only gym?
Ken Benjes I am seriously disappointed in you. It's the ARC not the MPOARC. Come on, fight the man.
ReplyDeleteI'm a girl. I go into the weight room with tons of guys and I don't have a problem. Yes, it would be nice if the ARC had better hours on the weekends...but I see how money could be an issue.
ReplyDeleteClarification: Yes we are supposed to be able to help show you all how to use the machines, however most never ask and I doubt any of you realized you could ask us to help you. There are diagrams on the machines that explain but they do a piss poor job on technique and nothing for free weights.
ReplyDeleteIMO this college is too small to have a womens only hour, possibly at the only time that I have off before I go to work or between classes. I agree something needs to be done to make everyone (not just women) feel more comfortable but I don't think gender separation is the way to go.
My suggestions:
Take a Strength and core training class (I was one of what... only 3 guys in a class of 15) or another specialized class where you will get the exposure and training... and credits for working out ;)
Ask one of us to help you guys out. It's our job and what we are getting paid to do. If any of you stop by the wall, its my job to explain everything and to try and make you feel comfortable.
Talk to Tom. Seriously the guy really cares and if you have concerns go over to his glass office and talk to him about it. He's willing to listen and might even offer a suggestion.
Excellent use of the winking face, kind sir!
ReplyDeleteI would be interested in learning what specifically (if anything) prompted this, because as of right now, it seems to me as though this creates an unnecessary and potentially problematic gender divide, as others have mentioned. If these hours were put into place as a response to girls feeling, for whatever reason, uncomfortable about working out in front of or alongside guys, it seems like women's only hours would do little more than create a false sense of security.
ReplyDeleteMost intense debate ever. Seems some women want this, some don't. So long as it's added hours rather than taking it out of the current schedule, I think we should do this for the half of women who want it, regardless of their individual reasoning.
ReplyDeleteRather than creating a time set aside just for women, they should just hold a workshop for people who want to feel more comfortable using the equipment. I'm sure a lot of people would come...both men and women... and after having been shown how to properly use the weights, those who felt insecure before would no longer feel that way.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the women are necessarily scared by the big bulky men...it's more of a fear of not knowing how to use the equipment and feeling uncomfortable in front of the big bulky men that obviously know what they are doing and feel comfortable in the weight room.
What about a "Newbies Hour" or something instead? Kind of like Anonymous 10:04 AM's suggestion of a workshop but made into a regularly-scheduled time instead.
ReplyDeleteWe could have some weight room veterans or ARC employees (there should be one in the Fitness Center anyway) teach a little workshop either for one hour a day each day (like the Women's Hour would be, I'm guessing) or one hour a day each week.
A regularly-scheduled time would establish the hour as a time to come learn how to use the machines and bond with other newcomers to the Fitness Center. And a consistent time would not only build a community within the Fitness Center but would make it easier for other newcomer's to know when to use the facilities.
It's just an idea but it would help both men and women become more comfortable with the Fitness Center as well as each other--building the community of "Newbies" would make them feel more comfortable in the space since they would be able to recognize each other and maybe work out together, spotting each other, etc.
I'm female, and having never used a gym before and being sort of puny, I was really intimidated by the whole situation. I got my roommate to go with me a few times and now I go all the time - but when it's convenient for me, not when I think there are going to be the fewest dudes around or something.
ReplyDeleteRather than setting aside divisive hours (which I can also see interfering with some guys' schedules, which is just not the point and kinda rude to them), I think a buddy system would be really cool - maybe a Facebook group? Would not be something the ARC would have to implement or pay for, either.
@10:25 thats a really good idea, the best that i've seen so far on this topic, we should totally do something more like that rather than divide the genders.
ReplyDeleteFirst, to everyone saying women should just suck it up/be proud of their bodies/whatever the fuck else and use the fitness center while men are there: you're speaking from a lot of privilege and are being completely insensitive. It's awesome that you feel confident enough to do that, but that doesn't mean you can expect everyone else to do the same.
ReplyDeleteSecond, enough with the policing of other people's behaviors! I personally am not a fan of the leggings-as-pants trend, but it's not fair for any of us to impose our fashion opinions/choices on anyone else.
Third, this essentializing of genders is bullshit. (This goes for everything anyone has said about why they think women use/don't use the fitness center, what people are worried about, etc.) If we're going to be doing any sort of special gym hours, I'm most comfortable with the idea of "newbie hours," because this eliminates the need for any gender-based assumptions or generalizations. Not only do "women's only" hours erase the identities of gender-nonconforming individuals, they also ignore potential man-identified people who are uncomfortable using the fitness center as it is now.
And, when it comes down to it, people who are uncomfortable with the bulky dudes (or anything/anyone else) in the fitness center have the option of going to lift at other times of the day, just as people who prefer a less-crowded gym can go at off-peak hours.
@11:05 Agreed! Something that helps introduce people to the gym.
ReplyDeleteAnd as Will Frye said earlier, the staff are always around to help you!
I might show this thread to Tom Fisher, thanks for all the feedback and great discussion!
As an alum, I would have really liked the opportunity to be shown how to use the equipment. Since graduating and belonging to a real gym I've learned a lot and now regularly use weights and machines, not just cardio equipment. I feel like I missed out on being able to get my money's worth of St. Mary's awesome facility because I didn't know how to do anything and the weight room doesn't seem like a friendly place for newbs.
ReplyDeleteWhether it's a women's workshop or a newbie's workshop I think that it would give people the opportunity to learn how to use the equipment so they would be confident enough to go at other times, therefore I think it's a good idea.
@Madeline I think the whole 'leggings as pants' is because of the ability to see underwear, which can make people uncomfortable. Which is the same reason guys wear compression shorts, so that testicles don't hang out of shorts awkwardly.
ReplyDeleteKEN SAID TESTICLES
ReplyDeleteMaybe if some male attitudes on this campus weren't sexist and degrading women would feel safer working out. This isn't the women's fault at all. (Same goes for some anti-gay attitudes and racist attitudes I've seen, too. And it's not all men, but the few that swagger around like douchebags ruin it for everyone else.)
ReplyDeleteThis issue is not new. When I went here (class of 2010!) I had a friend who worked at the ARC and they were floating this idea mainly because some ladies complained about some guys in the weight room that were making sexist comments (in a general sense) along with all of the other issues mentioned above.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I don't know if the former is still the case now. I'm gonna side with the "newbie hours" folk because I'm wary of doing anything based on gender.
Also off topic, I'd like to state that I am pro jeggings, those things do wonders for people with curves!
Leggings are NOT a substitute for pants... And there IS a difference between workout pants and leggings.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's honestly the main thing. Personally, I'd prefer if people just wore shorts, but there are very important differences between sports-type leggings and the kind you pick up at Target for five dollars--the sports ones are much thicker, and don't have the same see-through quality.
ReplyDeleteAlso, for the record, I don't really care outside of the gym. Personally, I don't really want to see every single detail of your thighs and ass, but I've got bigger things to worry about. It's just when I'm working out and that definition is accompanied by straight up skin & underwear that it super bothers me.
-Tessa
i heard from someone who works at the ARC that t-fisher was considering this idea because of how much he'd heard about women not using the weight room because of the intimidation factor (everything said before) but this was before the survey was sent out, too. his initial idea (i'm hearing this third-hand) was to have the hours between 9pm-11pm, which wouldn't require extra funding because apparently the management staff is usually there pretty late anyway. this doesn't consider that those are pretty unwanted hours to use the gym, but i think it shows his attempt at making the ARC more comfortable for all (possibly reducing some traffic at peak hours? because it's not like there are no women there during those times) while not taking away from one group to give to another.
ReplyDeleteThere is a pretty good chance that woman's only workout hours would be a violation of title IX.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of newbie hours is awesome.
@Brendan
ReplyDelete"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance..."
—United States Code Section 20, [1]
Oooo interesting point!!! I guess this does in a way fall under that right?
I don't think the ARC gets any federal financial assistance. But, I know title IX covered all those sports back in the day (still does, we just don't think about it), but I'm going to go join the volleyball team, because I love volleyball and we don't have a men's one. I will not be excluded based on my sex!
ReplyDelete...seriously though, we should have men's volleyball.
The arc doesn't have to get any federal funding, as long as some part of the college gets some, title 9 applies.
ReplyDelete