Men, taking dominating yoga/groups.

[SpongeBobJudgeyPants]

I've just come back from what should have been a chilled yoga class. Half way through, a man enters, announces he thought it started later, but he will join anyway. Rather than just quietly join in, he bangs his stuff about loudly. I found myself tutting. He settled down for a bit, but then during relaxation at the end, he has to competively exhale. No one else's breathing audible but his. I realise his entrance was a "A man has come, all hail the man, women" and I have seen it many times, being an old bird. But what do they actually get out of it? Surely it doesn't produce results? Or are they just satisfied when they've done it regardless? I've seen/experienced this in about every excercise class/reading group/whatever I've ever been in, and am a tad vexed about it tbh. In fact, if there is a womens only yoga class, I go for that. Any answers please? And anything I can actually do rather than passively agressively tut, or have a word with the tutor? Probably not. It's just soooo tiresome!

I was once behind a man in a yoga class who was wearing orange shorts with apparently no underwear

we have a woman like this in our yoga class. she walks in late every time, starts on whichever poses she wants, (it's an astanga class), fannies around during the class, (even facing the wrong way in places) and then leaves early during shavasana. She does it every week. I don't know why it is allowed. I don't think it is a man thing, it's an entitled person thing

I'd go with asking her if she could ask people not to turn up late as it's messing with your chakras. And then after you've been there a bit ask if she's considered women only classes.

Yes, I think I need to bide my time, then approach the instructor. She does a class at another venue, which is less convenient, but I would suck it up if it is a class that currently has no men. If it was an annoying woman, I would be annoyed, and say so. Not on Fem Chat, probably 'chat' or AIBU. IME there is a particular type of annoying man, and it has always followed the same routine, whether yoga or reading group.Surely no one is calling me a liar about that? Why would I? What would I gain? I wouldn't be surprised if Annoying Man was also on MN!

I said yoga type - body balance is a mix of yoga, tai chi and pilates and includes relaxation at the end.

Oh yes, I’ve definitely seen this. Went to a Yin class recently, where a man entered (late) to what was his first ever yoga class, he loudly exclaimed to the group. Then he proceeded to very audibly tell the teacher his whole life story, including how many hours a day he meditated for, and how life changing it was. The teacher joked to us all “and here’s your new teacher everyone”, but I could tell she just wanted him to shut up so she could start the class. Why do some people have to be so god damn performative all the time?

There are 4 men and 7 women at my pilates class.
Two of the men grunt and groan all the way through.
They have no inkling how much pain I'm in from Rheumatoid Arthritis to back injury because I don't groan at every movement. I have to take pain killers before I go.
I try to be as far away from them as possible to avoid murder.

This is why I struggle to find a much needed Pilates or yoga class! I always go for a while then a man like this appears and I have to move on!

Can I point out that “performative stretches before the class has started” are essential for some people (ok me) as I’ve been sitting all day and I need to warm up before starting

It would make a change from the yoginis with their elephant trousers and unwashed feet who do exactly the same with an added 'Actually, you're in MY spot' thing before sighing performatively and putting themselves, their stinky feet and their lentil lunch arses about six inches away from you so that you're debating whether Ahimsa actually applies when you could oh, so easily, twat them upside the head with a Parivrtta Parsvakonasana transition and nobody would be any the wiser.

There's a reason why I stick to the meatheads. They're far more respectful of personal space.

Oh, believe me, he’s here.

And all his buddies.

Yes, and they or at least the NAMALT brigade appear on threads like this! Almost as if we aren't allowed to talk about it on Feminist Chat... I did rather lol at lentil arse....

And frankly, bugger 'be kind'. I go to yoga with one of the aims of getting me through the week without killing anyone.

I'm laughing if you're calling me a NAMALT! I go to many many yoga classes and have done over the years and have found both men and women to do the whole performative thing. At the moment the person who does it in my class is a (very annoying) woman. But yes, of course you can discuss your experience on this thread. I mentioned mine.

I went to a sound healing thing and there was a man being performatively spiritual and really feeling the healing, so loud. Although tbf there is usually a women crying as shes an empath and just feels it so much 😂.
I enjoy the nonsense.

Mmm I much prefer female yoga classes. I prefer all female most things these days.

It's a gym thing for me - didn't clock the board!

I have equal distaste for malodorous functional-cross-circuit-twats infesting the non functional fitness part of the gym with atrocious form, trying to pressure you to get the fuck off the machine you're using halfway through a set and dangling themselves off the pulldown rig like a spider on elastic because they've put all of the plates on when they couldn't pull more than 50kg without using their entire bodyweight and gravity.

Meatheads though, are great. And I've seen how brilliantly they ensure the mfccts stay in line and stop bothering other people training. Usually just from turning their head slowly and looking, but one yesterday actually walked over and told one off by wagging an unfeasibly muscled finger at him for attempting to bother a smaller bloke (they never hassle the big guys to let them in).

If only the meatheads would do yoga!

And nowhere did I say men shouldn't do yoga. There's some good ideas on here, and I shall take these on board. I'm glad it's not just my experience. I don't mind the menz doing stuff. I'm married to one, but if he came to a yoga group and did this word, I would be having a full and frank exchange of views about it.

I came across this situation in a hot yoga class. He positioned himself in the front row, and was covered in hair from tip to toe, wearing very little else (think tiny flappy shorts and that's it). Once the class got going he proceeded to fling droplets of sweat all over everyone else in the tent, while grunting loudly. It was foul.

Ooh, grim!

@ClownsOnTheLeft this guys stretches are a whole other level. Lots of people stretch beforehand and that’s fine, this guy purposefully chooses a spot in a row that exists only for him at the front, and grunts whilst doing them.

I hate it when woman arrive late to the exercise classes and disrupt the momentum of the class ....

“All space becomes male space unless females maintain a concerted effort to mark a space for themselves.” –Sheila Jeffreys

Yes Spanky. But this was a man, so... That's an interesting quote @Thelnebriati and very true, sadly.

It is crap isn’t it. My boss organised a female only event a few years back and a similar thing happened except it was a trans woman not a man but the behaviour was exactly as you described. The person dominated every conversation, spoke over everyone, spoke about issues that were not female issues. In the end our boss told us she was never doing another similar event even though originally she had hoped to run a series of similar events because it was exactly the opposite of what she had hoped. Very disappointing.