Reply #2: The first time I ever worked out, it was at a women-only gym in a small town [View All]

[Lydia Leftcoast]

The reason was that the other gym in town was definitely a hostile atmosphere for women. The bodybuilder types would taunt the women they considered unattractive and proposition the ones they thought were attractive. Women who wore their clothes loose were "frumps" and women who wore their clothes tight were "teases."

The women-only gym was low-key and supportive, not at all competitive. The owner took a genuine interest in how well we were doing and pushed us along when we hesitated to move to the next level.

Later, when I moved to Portland, I joined a co-ed gym. By then I had more self-confidence, and the mix of people, downtown professionals and arts community types, knew enough to leave their sexism at the door. Some of the women there could have decked any man who got out of line. There was a lot of banter back and forth, but it felt friendly rather than hostile.

Now I'm at a YWCA, which despite its name, is coed. I haven't done any weightlifting here, although my body is telling me that I need to get back into that. However, since the Minneapolis YWCA's three core principles are empowering women, anti-racism, and child development, I don't anticipate any problems.

I'm grateful, though, that I had that opportunity to work out in a safe environment in a town where the local men could be awfully crude.