- In response to gym harassment and objectification, many women are experimenting with gender-separated gyms.
- Some gym attendants say that women-only gyms provide a safe and supportive environment.
- But experts warn that it doesn’t address the bigger problem, male behavior.
As a fitness influencer, Lauren Roger’s life revolves around the gym. She looks forward to providing 61K TikTok followers with daily training routines and tips for lifting heavy objects. However, unwanted gaze and attention from a man in the gym often caused her discomfort.
“People aren’t just looking at them, they’re just staring at them,” explains Lozier. “Most of the time, you’ll catch someone sitting behind me, not exercising, and staring directly at your butt.”
Her experience is not uncommon. In a recent survey of 900 women, 71% changed their workout routines due to negative encounters such as being watched, tracked, or unwanted physical contact. I found out that.
As this issue got a lot of attention and became a hot topic in the past year, Lozier, like many others, tried a women-only gym. She felt she was safe, supported and welcomed.
“It was nice to have my own space where I didn’t have to worry about men thinking weird things,” she said, calling the experience “peace.”
However, despite its growing popularity, experts say these facilities only address some of the larger issues.
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Women-only gym provides “safety, comfort and a sense of community”
Diane Quinn, a social psychologist at the University of Connecticut, states that a comfortable and safe mood during exercise is important not only for fitness trips, but also for mental health. According to a 2018 study, regular exercise can reduce stress, anxiety and depression.
However, “when a woman experiences objectification such as getting comments about her body, crouching, blinding, and harassing, she tends to feel embarrassed about her body and worry about what it looks like to others. There is, “says Quinn. This can cause eating disorders, reduce self-esteem, and discourage women from exercising regularly.
Women-only gyms have attempted to address these concerns by fostering a safe and supportive environment for those who do not want to worry about being harassed.
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Some, like Janes Gym in Mississippi, offer options such as prenatal training courses and childcare services.
“Safety and comfort are our top priorities here,” says Page Anderson, co-owner of Janes Jim. “Our mission here is to serve this niche market and primarily address the unique needs of women, such as safety, comfort and community awareness.”
“This is a short-term solution.”
However, women-only gyms also have their drawbacks. States like Connecticut have ruled against gender-specific gyms that violate state law prohibiting gender discrimination, and some gym users have limited choice of equipment at certain facilities. I have expressed concern about that.
Lozier felt that he wasn’t getting enough weight and returned to the communal gym.
“I was shocked,” she recalls. “The co-educational gym I often go to has different weights and different options, but the women-only gym I visited has dumbbells that can only go up to 50 pounds and squat racks with fewer plates. There were only two. Options. “
Critics also point out that these gyms, despite their many advantages, are only a short-term solution to female harassment and objectification. The real problem that needs to be addressed is male behavior.
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“Harassment is a more prevalent problem than just setting up a gym. It happens every day at work and on social media. I don’t think women-only gyms will necessarily change bad behavior,” he said. Says Summer Hungate. -Jane’s gym owner.
However, she states that they provide a “very necessary” safe space for them to exercise.
What needs to be changed
According to experts, harassment in the gym is a prominent but normalized problem and should not burden women to avoid it.
Ultimately, Jim says it’s Jim’s responsibility to set a zero-tolerance policy to “prevent men from being involved in these behaviors and, if so, enforce results.” This may include removing the dress code at the gym. This “applies more to women than to men,” Lozier said.
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“There is still a lot of blame for the victims, and people will comment that they shouldn’t have worn it in the gym or that they shouldn’t have crouched that way,” says Lozier. “Having a dress code is the worst thing we can do to prevent harassment, because people are using it as ammunition to justify these actions.”
Quinn also suggests that by fostering a gym culture that focuses on holistic fitness journeys rather than our body, people can feel more comfortable during their workouts.
“Many gyms are set up to showcase people. There are windows in front of people doing aerobic exercise, and mirrors everywhere,” says Quinn. “So you’ll probably tone it down so it’s not that much appearance-based. Everywhere you look, you’ll see every dimension of someone’s body.”
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