The gym should be a safe space for everyone – The Cauldron
***Disclaimer: this is an opinion piece. This article in no way reflects the views of The Cauldron and its staff. It only reflects the views of the columnist.
On a random Tuesday afternoon, the Cleveland State Rec Center was slow and quite the perfect time to get in a quick workout. I began to work arms, pressing dumbbells while listening to my favorite music, when a guy took a seat on the bench next to me. He was staring at me.
I did not think much of it at first, but he kept looking at me with intense eyes. This made me uncomfortable, so I put the dumbbells away and went to another spot in the gym, far away from him.
He followed me and perched himself on the machine right in front of me. He did not use the machine, he simply sat and watched. This pattern continued for a while, when I moved, he followed. I tried to ignore him but I couldn’t concentrate with his eyes on me.
Finally, he came up to me, he did not even give me the grace to finish my set before he began talking to me. He asked for my number, and I told him no.
This man then stomped his feet and whined like a toddler but walked away, finally leaving me alone. This was only one of many interactions with men I have had at the Rec Center that have led to me feeling uncomfortable working out at the gym.
I often feel and see roaming eyes on my body when I am on the stairmaster or lifting weights.
I am not saying all men are creepy, that is far from the truth. However, this interaction is not a rare event. According to Fit Rated, 70 percent of women have had an uncomfortable experience at the gym.
I have talked to many girls about the Rec Center and many speak of feeling uncomfortable going to the gym because of their previous interactions with men.
Some have even stopped going to the Rec Center entirely out of fear of confrontation.
The Rec Center also becomes extremely crowded later in the day, mostly with men. This can be daunting for women, especially being the only girl in the entire weight lifting section on a packed day.
Women-only gyms do exist, such as Forte and Diamond Strength Fitness. However, these gyms are more aligned with studios, only offering classes or one-on-one training and do not offer open gym hours like the Rec center and other mainstream gyms.
Some gyms such as Cleveland Fitness Club do have women-only areas but these work out spots typically have very limited equipment and are not truly secluded from the rest of the gym.
The Rec Center does not have very much open space to be converted to a women-only section. However, to accommodate every student I think the student body would greatly benefit from a women-only workout hour.
When I say women-only I also would like to state that includes transgender women and gender-nonconforming people. This time should be a safe space for anyone who feels uncomfortable in a regular gym.
The way I would run a women-only gym hour, is once a week the gym would be completely reserved for non-men members of the CSU community. From cardio row to the pool would be available to only those individuals during the hour.
A women-only policy would not be legally enforceable since the Rec Center is a part of the university and would fall under the regulations of Senate Bill 1. SB1 is a bill that essentially eliminates diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
CSU has already shut down organizations such as the LGBT+ and Women’s center. A women-only workout hour could not be a strict policy but a community supported effort to give others a safe space to workout freely.
A large change like this would be met with backlash, some may say it is unfair or sexist. However, each student deserves to feel comfortable at the gym, exercise is extremely important for the health of the body and mind.
The gym should be a safe space for every CSU student.