lifting_heavy_things | MY FEMINIST OUTRAGE, LET ME SHOW YOU IT

I only noticed this today.

The (excellent, cheap, local, council-run) gym which I am now visiting for barbell-lifting purposes has two free weights areas.

There's the free weights room, which is marvellous. It has several squat racks, Olympic barbells and lighter ones, huge numbers of weight plates (of all sizes, including very light ones) and dumbells, and all sorts of benches (multiple angles) and cages and pull-down machines and chin-up bars and so on. It is big and shiny and full of toys.

Then, in the main section of the gym where all the cardio machines are, there is a small area marked out by mats. It has three plain benches, a large rack of small dumbells and a rack of little barbells with fixed weights. And a BodyPump poster.

On both occasions I've visited, I've been the only woman in the free weights room.

(Though I will note that the large bodybuilding and powerlifting dudes there have not batted an eyelid at my presence, or been anything other than courteous and friendly.)

And today I noticed that, of course, the people using the other free weights area are female.

There's nothing that overtly says that this is the Girls' Weights Area. There doesn't need to be.

And I know that free weights rooms in gyms can seem very intimidating to women.

But I do not think this is a good solution.

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This seems to happen in most gyms where they have separate areas set up. It can be frustrating, but I prefer to think of it as a "gateway space" much like people who don't like Stephanie Meyer's books think of them as being "gateway books" where they could hook people on to reading more.

It is frustrating to see a relatively fit woman continuing to use 3lb dumbbells for bicep curls though.

I'd hope that there are some people for whom it will be a gateway, and they'll gain the confidence to decide they want more and heavier stuff.

But it feels like for many people, it may be the opposite -- it steers them off into this separate idea and reinforces the idea that you lift little weights for lots and lots of reps, and doesn't let them acquire the skills (like how to put plates on a bar, or what a squat rack is for) that might make the free weights room proper seem less intimidating.

And, I dunno. I can actually see the point of having a weights area for people who just want to lift some light weights briefly as a complement to their other fitness activities, and who don't want to get into the SRS BISNS that is the free weights area proper.

It's the fact that it's effectively ended up gender segregated that bothers me.

I'll feel better if I ever see another woman in the free weights room ...

"I'll feel better if I ever see another woman in the free weights room ..."

or see more men going into the light weights area/open space for their cool down/stretching (which I do see sometimes too)

...sigh. If they're going to make separate spaces for women and men to lift weights (which...honestly I can see some value to, considering how many women might not want to go into a heavily male-dominated area to experiment with something new), could they at least give the women some decent weights?

honestly I can see some value to, considering how many women might not want to go into a heavily male-dominated area to experiment with something new

Oh, hell yeah. But if they really wanted to change that, then they could -- for example -- have some women's weightlifting workshops (that's how I learned how to do barbell lifts).

Or even a women-only evening or session once a week (leaving aside the potentially problematic issues of gender policing).

Instead, it feels like they've recognized that there are ~~women~~ people who do the BodyPump classes and have some interest in weights but who don't feel comfortable going into the free weight room, and have tried to provide something -- but ended up creating this little dead end.

Which also means that the free weight room stays all male (apart from me) and stays just as intimidating and alienating.

That's a really good point. I was just thinking in terms of "well, at least they're trying to provide a place?" But I hadn't thought far enough to think that the fact that they realized it was a potential problem and that was their best solution makes it even worse.

I just got round to reading the membership pack of leaflets I handed, and it turns out that they have a tonne of "ladies only" classes, including the "Pump It Up" ones (which I'm guessing are BodyPump minus the franchise fee).

So, yanno. If they're okay with women-only classes in principle and think that's a useful strategy, they could timetable a women-only session for the free weights room. But I bet it didn't even occur to them.

Aw man, when I was scouting out gyms that was one of my big no-no's. The minute someone said "and some women might not feel comfortable it the big-bad-(mens)-weightlifiting-area, so we've made this little room with pretty purple 10lbs dumbbells and pilates balls for the girls", I knew it wasn't a place for me.

If it makes you feel better, there're a bunch of women using the power cages at the Montreal YMCA. :)

No girly-room there...

Since I posted this, I've been pleased to see at least one other woman using the free weight room (and she was doing a ferociously badass complex of Olympic lifts, too).

But yeah. Apparently having two women in there at the same time is so anomalous that a trainer exclaimed "Two ladies in the weights room!" in tones of amazement. *facepalms*

MY FEMINIST OUTRAGE, LET ME SHOW YOU IT

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My continued rage, let me show you it

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