working out
I just joined my local gym, and had my first session today. So far so good, but ask me how I feel in the morning and I might be telling a different story.
As soon as I mention that I’ve joined a gym, people always ask if I joined Fernwood, the women-only gym. I’m almost getting offended – no, that’s not quite the word, but nearly – as though as a woman I have to go to that gym. Why can’t I go to a regular gym? I like hanging out with guys, I get along with them better than women in a lot of cases. In fact, my experience has been that women are more critical of women’s bodies than men are. So why shouldn’t I feel more comfortable exercising around men?
Yes, it could be a bit of a perv-fest, but everyone there this afternoon was too focused on what they were doing to even notice what others were doing or what they looked like or what they were wearing. (I stood in front a guy I work with for what seemed like an eternity before he realised I was there – even though I thought he was looking straight at me, clearly he was looking straight through me.)
I’m sure many of you like the idea of women-only gyms and other women’s spaces, and I do think it’s a great idea – just not for me.
What do you think about men-only gyms? Apparently, they’ve had a lot of trouble from the anti-descrimination board trying to open in some areas. To be honest, if one opened in my area I would feel excluded and descriminated against. So why is it ok to have women-only gyms? The law says it’s ok to provide a service exclusively for men/women provided they provide an equivilant service for the group that is excluded. If one is not provided it is considered descrimination.
I’m all for ’em, if that’s what the guys want. But I don’t think they do.