To find the gym attire of some women completely inappropriate?

[Apolo90]

I went to the gym with a work colleague after work; it’s the first time I’ve been to that particular one.

I was taken aback by the number of women wearing either the tightest leggings imaginable, barely there sports bra’s and/or shorts which wouldn’t look out of place on the beach they were that sparse.

Is this really appropriate? I’m far from a prude but I like to exercise without being forced to stare at someone’s bottom squeezed into impossibly tight clothing.

Maybe I’m just getting old.

There are plenty of other appropriate choices but so many go for clothes men want to see them in.

Quite possibly, so perhaps scrunch bum lady could be mindful of that next time she dresses for the class

I agree with the OP. I'm just back from the gym and was one of the few women dressed in loose ( but lightweight and breathable) jogging bottoms that aren't clingy. The ones that completely outline your bum crack are just weird. It is like a thong and tights and doesn't look comfortable at all. The men wear much more sensible stuff.

Oh good a man is here.

This would be very unusual gym wear here. But each to their own, as long as you’re happy. And they’re happy, where’s the issue?

I have to smile because I had a very similar conversation about inappropriate attire today except the lady they were gossiping about is 78! Older ladies exercise class, most in jogging bottoms a t shirts, low impact, some seated on chairs, one lady in very short scrunch bum cycling shorts and a skimpy sports bra ... i couldn't stop laughing (not and the lady, she'd gone but at the complainants, as in has she no shame) I then told the ladies about thing bikinis ... they were shocked

My husband goes to the same gym and suspects that if he was there in a pair of budgie smugglers he'd get thrown out and thinks men wouldn't get away with showing their crotch and bum outline the way women do, even cyclists have a thick chamois to hide the outline a bit

100% agree with OP, why do men have to wear shirts for hygeine reasons but women have their bare skin against all the kit whilst wearing just a bra? Just as the bikini is the equivalent of men's trunks, a sports bra with no top is the equivalent of a naked torso.
I've been using gyms for over 30 years, gym etiquette now is appalling.

It’s the sweat and germs they leave behind on the equipment after using when they don’t clean it that is my pet hate. There is one particular person in my gym that gets on all the gym equipment wearing just a bra and tiny shorts and leaves all her sweat on the equipment that makes me ill

Would it though? Neither of the men who live with me would agree with that. Both are very regular gym goers, and would see sports bras, sweat-wicking t-shirts (crop or otherwise) and tight leggings as normal.gym wear.

Of course there may well be people, of both sexes, who go to the gym to pose but those who are there to work out seriously don't pay much attention to what other people are wearing.

I'm not super fussed about what people wear, tight is much more comfortable and practical than anything baggy. However tight within reason. One woman I saw had on a pair of tight shorts, clearly sans undies, that showed every nook and cranny of her generous vulva, with the middle seam making a glorious camel toe. I don't want to see clit at the gym thanks.

Don't women have enough to deal with without another woman commenting on their choice of clothing.

If I was in shape I would wear a sports bra and shorts. Its comfy, unrestricting, no layers or flappy bits, cool as in temperature and unrestricting. I think it looks good.
I dont like those leggings that make your bum look like two balloons but I appreciate that is my personal taste and a fashion thing more than anything so don't really care if anyone else wears them.

Just to add I lived in kuwait for a bit, gyms were segregated to mens and womens. So I joined a womens gym. Everyone came in, took their burkers off and then went about in the teeniest tiniest sports bras and shorts, leggings etc. The dance classes were brilliant fun.

Yes, you are quite right. People can certainly wear what they want but some like to flaunt everything they've got. In my view it's disrespectful of other people.

I know what you mean op. You might not realise though a lot of young people don't go drinking anymore and are actually on the pull in the gym. Well certainly are in mine 🤣

I agree it is impossible not to notice, a human body is 1.5-2 meters high and can be up to half a meter wide and an object that size in front of you is impossible to ignore, unless you belong to the gawp-at-a-phone-all-day club. I notice women working out in tight clothing but it doesn't register, it is the norm in a gym where people are training hard and I don't find their attire inappropriate. There is a big difference between noticing someone and staring at them.

Big difference here, you are not comparing like with like. Men’s bits stick out, women’s don't!

If tight clothing is much more comfortable and practical, why don't men wear it?

That is one of the gym no-no's, but that has nothing to do with the clothing someone is wearing and everything to do with their thoughtlessness/don't-give-a-shit attitude problem.

Men have their genitals on the outside which are sensitive to being squished into a tight space with a seam crushing down on them, so loose clothing around the groin is much better.

True down below, not true at chest height.

YABU. Gym leggings can only be so tight. It’s either that or trackies. Some people like to work out in trackies, some in leggings. Get over yourself!

Wow, who needs porn when you have Mumsnet posts like this. 😮

This all really smacks of old ladies tut tutting at the youth

No, it's not the height of hypocrisy. Wearing gym appropriate clothing, even if tight fitted, doesn't automatically sap the humanity out of women. We are still real people who should not be treated as sexual objects, even when at the gym.