To think this is unfair?

[Whenlifegivesyouoranges]

I joined a gym a few months ago and one of the main points for me was that it’s female only from 9-7 weekdays. I’ve just had this email from them and I’ll be cancelling as it no longer fits in with the times I can go, but this is ridiculous, right??

That seems really odd to me. Why would young women be bothered about women over 24 being there as well

It is also weird that the gym has women only and men only hours and no overlap

it would make sense to just have a couple of hours in the day for women only

Agree completely, 💯 be going somewhere else , can’t believe the gym crowd !

Oh I hadn’t even clocked this! I thought it was a women’s only gym!

so now men have even less time in which to use the gym presumably? And couples can’t go together? Or male/female friends. Or children and parents.

This is the worst business model ever 😭

No men's hours didn't change, just women's, over 25.

This gym does not sound like a viable business.

It’s wild that you’re trying desperately to defend things that you’ve gotten wrong.

I feel like you’re the kind of person who could mistake a skunk for a stray cat and rather than admit you were mistaken you adopt it, feed it whiskers and claim it’s purring.

Hmmm. That's the prime slot for all users. They can't shut to their paying customers for the whole after work slot!!

It's like a cafe saying they will only serve coffee after lunchtime. 🤣 It's defeats the object.

I'm baffled as to why teenagers need special privileges every single day, but I would vote woth my feet, like you.

And this is my problem with the "special privilege" mindset. We can't all be special, so we have to save these types of things for those with the greatest need, not arbitrary special groups. 🙄

I can see why you are angry op, and completely think yanbu. However, I can also see why they might want a specific time for this group. If they are more likely to use the gym, at this time, it’s more inclusive to not want to be ‘ogled’ during that time. Also, this is a more vulnerable age group, and more likely to be victim to sexual harassment (statistically). I can completely see why it doesn’t feel fair but there probably is some data behind it. And data doesn’t usually lie (sorry op)

They could be giving special rates to the younger age group and cannot offer the same to other ages at the same times.

It could be that they could be employing personal trainers who are trained in that group of younger people, and if they are only employing them for that day, perhaps it is not as unreasonable as it seems?

I never go to gyms, so am only guessing.

Up tp you whether you cancel or not. Do you have DC in that age range? If you do, perhaps they prefer to train with others of their age?

How many women do you think are ogling and sexually harassing younger women?

And data may not lie - but it can be interpreted very differently depending on the desired outcome!

No, I just mean a women in her 20s is much more likely to be victim to sexual advances than a women in her 30s so I can see why if a gym were to make a protected time, it might want to choose this group rather than another.
there is lots of data available that women in their 20s receive far more unsavoury comments, unwarranted advances and actual sexual assault than women in their 30s and even 40s. I think it might just be an age thing, rather than anything else.

But men aren’t relevant here so I’m not sure why you are even mentioning men. They don’t have to be front and centre in everything! It is going from an all-women timeslot to a timeslot for women under-24.

I perhaps could understand if it was one day a week and based around a specific class / workout option that is more targeted at younger women, or an hour slot directly after school for the under-18s. But under-24s seems a strange age group, and it is really not fair to effectively take away the facilities during the entire week for any woman aged over 24 (as most will be working in the day).

I think others may have hit the nail on the head about the gym owner wanting a certain aesthetic.

I don’t mean to make men the centre or everything but it is a sad fact that most sexual assaults are male on female. So you can see why a protected space is appropriate.
but if you further looked at the category of victim and found they were under 24, then for sure, I’d protect that space even more! Doubly so in fact. and especially (if you are a gym owner, I suppose, and most of your customers that are likely to go to the gym are of that age range, you can see why you’d want them to feel as safe as possible. It’s about being inclusive to allow everyone to feel safe while working out, but also catering to the group that are most likely to be victim AND most likely to attend the gym

Here are some facts for you:
59% of under 25 go to the gym regularly
23% of over 35s go to a gym regularly
if you are under 30, you are 105% more likely to report sexual harassment and 65% more likely to report sexual assault.
these are just fact from google. Like I said data doesn’t lie!

I don’t mean to make men the centre or everything but it is a sad fact that most sexual assaults are male on female. So you can see why a protected space is appropriate.

Yes.

But IN THIS CASE it is moving from a women-only space for women of all ages to a women-only space for women under the age of 24.

Men are not relevant here. So I don’t understand why you keep on about them.

these are just fact from google. Like I said data doesn’t lie!

Oh. You see Google as an appropriate and reliable reference source.

but if you further looked at the category of victim and found they were under 24, then for sure, I’d protect that space even more!

So as this age group is more likely to be harassed by men, they also need protection from women over 24? We are not talking about taking hours away from men, the gym proposed to take away gym hours from women over 24.

I also like how on this thread it has been claimed that young women need their reserved hours both because that age group doesn't go to gym, but also because they are the main customers. Surely, if only 23% of over 35s go to a gym regularly, it's the over 35s who need special encouragement?

If they are more likely to use the gym, at this time, it’s more inclusive to not want to be ‘ogled’ during that time.

by other women? Those hours are already women only. The gym has now made them 'young women only'

So do they have a mixed sex gym that the older women are expected to use at those times?
Have large numbers of very entitled teens and younger women been complaining that the "old" women are making their gym time too busy?
That they aren't even at risk of harassment in the main gym, as they are no longer pretty young things like them? 🤣
I would leave OP.

You have a very overblown definition of the term ‘wild’. I suggest you try to not let other people’s opinions bother you so much.

I still don’t think the overlap with peak hours is problematic depending on the gym’s justifications. End of story.

The wrinklies are spoiling the social media posts of the young and beautifuls 🤣

Even if there is an argument that this is a propionate approach for a legitimate aim to protect a vulnerable group (& I am not convinced by any of the arguments that have been put forward yet to explain why working women aged 25+ should be excluded from ALL weekday slots in favour of men and younger women), surely it is age discrimination not to offer a discount to reflect the restricted hours. Given that OP says this has been done for men in the past to recognise that they have fewer hours’ access (albeit all out of office hours), why has it not now been introduced for women aged 25+ as they have significantly reduced hours compared with others? Working women aged 25+ are being treated less favourably to their male counterparts and less favourably to their younger female counterparts. If there is a justifiable reason, why isn’t it stated clearly and why isn’t there a consequential price reduction as there was for men?

Everyone hears that you feel it isn’t problematic… but that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve mistaken the facts.
But, like you say; end of story.

And you don't know the facts of the gym's set up.