By Sophia Christensen
Too often women in the gym go through multiple experiences facing misogynistic comments or actions. Many then feel forced to stick with at-home workouts, and some won’t even try out the gym because they feel huge discomfort due to these occurrences. The two major problems women face in the gym include criticism belittling their weight/workouts and/or uncomfortable notions from others in the gym.
The gym culture is generally an amazing environment with a supportive community; however, sometimes women can be judged or criticized for their weight and workouts which prevents them from seeing the positives of a gym. Simply because of their sex, women receive backlash for the amount of weight they do. Whether they are doing a lot or too little, they can never seem to do it right in the eyes of misogynistic beings. When a woman does lift a lot of weight, the form just seems to be way off or they’re seen as just “ego-lifting.” However, if the weight is not enough, comments will rush in saying, “put on some weight.” Even disregarding the weight, women face snarky comments by merely thinking about stepping into a gym, receiving comments that they are “only going to hit legs” or are just going there to “look pretty” as if girls cannot have goals or aspirations of their own. Going to the gym can be extremely intimidating for women as comments flood in, criticizing them for almost everything they do in the gym.
Another serious issue for women in the gym includes inappropriate looks or actions by guys. There have been many women who have dropped the gym, along with their goals, all thanks to perverted individuals in the gym. When simply trying to workout, some women are given perverted stares or comments that make them feel uncomfortable and uneasy. The gym is an extremely vulnerable place when you’re working out in front of a bunch of strangers and pushing yourself to limits you wouldn’t normally do on a daily basis in front of other people. Inappropriate comments will make a woman feel inferior and scared to come back to the gym for another workout without fearing she would be bothered yet again when just simply trying to reach her goal.