Do we need a women-only bit in the gym or women only evenings?

[Lehman]

My brother has been complaining because he went to his local gym and found that he couldn't use it on Tuesday evening as it was women only. My brother is quite over weight but has been doing really well with diet and exercise. The response he got when he complained about the women only thing was that women don't like all the men ogling them in the gym and so must have seperate times / areas. is this true? I confess I am not in the gym much but do we really need special women only times? Are women such delicate flowers?

I post on a male dominated fitness forum, and so many of them complain about those testosterone fuelled gangs of lads, monopolising equipment and being intimidating.
Luckily not seen them in my gym.
Also not seen any leching or hitting on, but someone I know met her husband at the gym, and I think he hit on her.

The behaviour of some men in gyms and the sad fact that women in the UK seem more body conscious than in many if not all Western European countries means that women only sessions are something I can understand and have no objection to.

Totally agree and I think rather than moaning about inequality, men should actually 1. Accept this and 2. Help women to do something about it, or at least support them and understand their difficulties

My stance on 'women only' anything is always the same - when there is equality between the sexes, that's when I'll get pissed off about it and call 'unfair'. Currently there is not, and the fact that women do need so many activities free of men should speaks volumes!

As long as the gym makes its timetable and any restrictions clear to customers - and potential customers - then it's fair enough.

My gym has a couple of women only swim sessions a week.

I don't agree with segregation of race, of sexes, of sexual orientation, of gender, of religion. I don't agree with segragating men and women at gyms And pools, except obviously toilets, showers, changing facilities.

I don't agree that women 'need' to have segregated sessions. Can someone tell me why we need these? Are we going to catch some disease if we work out or do sports with men?

There are two women-only gyms near me. One has been going for a long time so there must be a market for it.

Blue

Where to start

Because women often feel inferior and intimidated around me
Because women are unlikely to do lots of things they want to when men aren't around, particularly physical activities
Because some women's religions dictates they can't share certain spaces with men
Because women often feel unsafe in male dominated spaces (and this is not over reacting or being hysterical considering the rates of male on female physical and sexual violence)
Because men, especially men in groups, tend to dominate and it doesn't give women a fighting chance
Because a lifetime of patriarchal socialisation has led men to believe, either consciously or unconsciously, that they are more important and more powerful then women - and this shows in small behaviours and actions, like a pp mentioned the way they don't follow rules when swimming.

I'd be very interested to hear an argument as to why all spaces (bar the obvious ones you mentioned) and activities should always be mixed?

No we don't need them, we need a world where no women feel intimidated by men whether it's a cultural expectation engrained in the women or an actual expression of the men.

Because women are equal Would be my first thought.

Because many women do work, socialise, and exercise/practice various sports and sporting competition with men all the time, that we actually trust them and value them.

You make men sound like big green monsters.

I am no athlete but have been practicing various male-dominated sports over the years. I acknowledge my limits but I don't feel threaten by men and certainly don't look at them the same way you say women do in your post...

No we don't need them, we need a world where no women feel intimidated by men whether it's a cultural expectation engrained in the women or an actual expression of the men.
We do, but until we have that women only activities and spaces are appropriate

Well then count yourself lucky Blue because you don't have to look far to find droves of women who are intimidated in male dominated spaces, and for good reasons.

The "you make men sound like X" to me is always a form of gaslighting against feminists to make them sound like hysterical wimmin, when actually they have bona fide reasons to want to stay away from groups of men

Also massive face plan at this comment on a feminist board Because women are equal Would be my first thought

I'm going for the stretch outcome pinky

I cannot see that I am different when I walk in a gym or a pool. Am I completely mad? We are all people and I perceive myself as equal. It just doesn't cross my mind that I am not equal when I swim or run, or play volley ball or go to a karate competition. It has never occurred to me that I cannot be as good/strong/worthy of being there.

It has never occurred to me that I cannot be as good/strong/worthy of being there.

When I went to the gym it never occurred to me that I wasn't as good/strong/worthy.. what did occur to me was that I needed it to be a space where I felt safe, free from judgement or sexualisation. That's why I used either a women's only gym, or a gym with a women only section. And if my choice was exercise with men or not go at all? I stayed home.

I'm really glad you didn't feel the same way, because it's a shit way to feel, but lots of us do. It's all well and good to say we shouldn't feel at risk or self conscious, but right now in the society we have to live in, that's the way women often feel.

I'd love one day for us not to need women only spaces, but we're not there yet.

I'm going to be honest and say I feel more judge in the company of women than men, especially at the gym. I think this is because I focus on what I DO abs not how I look while doing it - and rightly or wrongly I think other women see the fat sweaty bird while men see someone lifting a fuck off big weight.

I'm perfectly aware this is entirely my issue to deal with.

I go to a women only gym now and I feel very comfortable, my previous gym was dominated by young, fit, heavy weight boxer type, macho lads and I felt really out of place. They did nothing untoward to me, but I just felt uneasy and out of place, I'm not sure if it's because I'm old but I just felt intimidated and stupid; they loudly laughed and joked with each other, spurned each other on and congregated around the equipment, all of which was them just enjoying their gym time. I don't know why I felt so awkward being surrounded by them, but I just did.I feel so much better in a female gym. I recently experienced mixed toilets and I did not like them neither and I also dislike mixed changing rooms.

I use a women only gym. It is amazing. It's also very full. There is a larger, mixed gym on the same site. Women change in one area and then head out one way to the mixed gym or classes or a different way to the women's gym. I have never noticed anyone other than one seriously impressive weightlifter head to the mixed gym.

Blue I also perceive myself as equal, however society does not. It's not about not being as strong as men, but comfortable in an environment which you should enjoy. And you may not experience what I've said in my list but it doesn't mean that other women don't.

I liked the women-only swim session where I used to live over 20 years ago - no lane-hog blokes. Local pools you always have to check the timetable anyway to see when its available for lane swimming because of school groups, club training etc, you cant just turn up on spec.

Pools big enough to swim laps are necessarily large and expensive, but gyms can be on smaller scales which means that single sex facilities are possible, and on balance probably a better solution - one women's session a week isn't enough for the women who want it anyway and more really would be unfair on the men.

I live in an area that's around 70% Muslim and a large majority are strictly religious. The council gym offers women only sessions because if they didn't it wouldn't be a case of women choosing not to go, but women actually not being allowed to go.

These sessions tend to be the busiest times to go to the gym, so whilst some men may complain that they're restricted for a measly 4 hours a week, it clearly makes a lot of commercial sense to gyms to attract a whole lot of fully paid members that can only go for 4 hours a week.

When men stop harassing women then I'd agree we have no need for women-only sessions.

The best gym I ever went to had no women-only area, and had a firm policy that if anyone felt uncomfortable training in any part of the club, that was a problem that they needed to address. It was definitely the friendliest, least macho and most inclusive gym I've used. On the other hand when I've been to gyms with a women-only area, at times when I've gone in to the main section (which is obviously 4 or 5 times bigger, and has a wider range of kit) I have felt uncomfortable, and as though my presence is tolerated only because I provide visual entertainment. So I'm now in the "no segregated areas" camp. However well-intentioned they are, they have the side-effect of encouraging men to think that the rest of the space belongs to them and we should be confined to the corner.

Doobi that's expresed the problem beautifully thank you

Bloke here, I see no problem with women only times as long as there are equal men only times and they are posted clearly.
Alternatively if they don't want to give men only sessions then a discount on fees for them for the hours that they can't use the gym would be appropriate.