debyfabienne
New member
I’ve been going to my current gym now for 7 months, and I finally can’t take it anymore. The gym is pointlessly gendered, to the point I’m starting to feel insulted.
Let’s start with this poster. The English translation is “when you’re too weak to put your weights back, please contact our personal. The girls will happily help you.”
First, there’s the scantly clad airbrushed woman. Then there’s the assumption that women have anything to do with picking up after the men, and the further suggestion that either woman don’t have a reracking issue (debatable), or more likely, are not lifting free weights at all.
Then there’s this image all over the gym. The translation is “put away your weights”. Let’s just skim straight past the heteronormative bullshit in the image and reiterate the above point: the depiction seems to imply that women don’t need this reminder. The “why” is unclear, but not encouraging.
I don’t appreciate that the women working hard in this gym are being confronted with imagery that suggests their roles are to clean up after the men, not achieve their own goals.
Then let’s move on to the training programs. They have a number of training template brochures available. I want to say about 6. Of all of them, only the one meant for women has a photo of a woman on the cover. The one meant for women has no free weight training. It’s all body weight and isolation machines for the legs. Then there’s a program that on the cover says “only for men”. This program consists of lunges with a barbell, bent over rows, lat pull downs, bench press, and chest press. Very much exercises I have in my own program.
I’m frustrated. I don’t feel represented in my gym (and I’m not even getting into the binary representation of gender the gym is taking), even though I lift with everything I’ve got, every time I go.
On one hand, I understand that as a franchise trying to make money, you focus on your target audience. And from observation, 80% of the women in my gym (during the times I go) are indeed not lifting with free weights. But shouldn’t management then take this as an untapped market, and encourage other women to try out new things? I shied from free weights in the beginning out of uncertainty and intimidation of the bro energy from the beefed up men. But I got there with the help of a hired trainer that not everyone has the luxury of doing.
I’ve already brought this up to the female trainer who works when I go. She is also bothered by it, but management didn’t change anything after she suggested it wasn’t appropriate. She’s going to take my complaints to them though and state that a customer is dissatisfied. Maybe something will come of that. But what saddens me is I’m the only other person she knows of that has said anything.
I’d love to hear about your experiences regarding representations of women in the gym, any complaints you may have made, or how you feel about inclusivity in your fitness studio
Let’s start with this poster. The English translation is “when you’re too weak to put your weights back, please contact our personal. The girls will happily help you.”
First, there’s the scantly clad airbrushed woman. Then there’s the assumption that women have anything to do with picking up after the men, and the further suggestion that either woman don’t have a reracking issue (debatable), or more likely, are not lifting free weights at all.
Then there’s this image all over the gym. The translation is “put away your weights”. Let’s just skim straight past the heteronormative bullshit in the image and reiterate the above point: the depiction seems to imply that women don’t need this reminder. The “why” is unclear, but not encouraging.
I don’t appreciate that the women working hard in this gym are being confronted with imagery that suggests their roles are to clean up after the men, not achieve their own goals.
Then let’s move on to the training programs. They have a number of training template brochures available. I want to say about 6. Of all of them, only the one meant for women has a photo of a woman on the cover. The one meant for women has no free weight training. It’s all body weight and isolation machines for the legs. Then there’s a program that on the cover says “only for men”. This program consists of lunges with a barbell, bent over rows, lat pull downs, bench press, and chest press. Very much exercises I have in my own program.
I’m frustrated. I don’t feel represented in my gym (and I’m not even getting into the binary representation of gender the gym is taking), even though I lift with everything I’ve got, every time I go.
On one hand, I understand that as a franchise trying to make money, you focus on your target audience. And from observation, 80% of the women in my gym (during the times I go) are indeed not lifting with free weights. But shouldn’t management then take this as an untapped market, and encourage other women to try out new things? I shied from free weights in the beginning out of uncertainty and intimidation of the bro energy from the beefed up men. But I got there with the help of a hired trainer that not everyone has the luxury of doing.
I’ve already brought this up to the female trainer who works when I go. She is also bothered by it, but management didn’t change anything after she suggested it wasn’t appropriate. She’s going to take my complaints to them though and state that a customer is dissatisfied. Maybe something will come of that. But what saddens me is I’m the only other person she knows of that has said anything.
I’d love to hear about your experiences regarding representations of women in the gym, any complaints you may have made, or how you feel about inclusivity in your fitness studio
