Gym Harassment: A Growing Nightmare For Women

We’ve all seen videos of people being bothered and experiencing harassment in the gym, and unfortunately, it seems to be mostly women experiencing this.

Now, that’s not to say men don’t, but gym harassment has become a true fear for many women.

Here’s what you need to know about this unfortunate trend:

What Counts As Gym Harassment?

You’re in the fourth set of your squats. You’ve had a terrible day at work, and your boss was an arse. Now, this jack*ss wants to give you unsolicited advice after you caught him ogling you a moment ago.

Sure, it’s not wrong to talk to someone, but come on! Gym settings probably aren’t the best place to try to improve your social status with the ladies.

Many women have reported that the fitness industry is one of the worst male-dominated spaces and that — in co-ed gyms — they’re uncomfortable training around men.

There are several reasons for this:

• Women feel the physical threat of men lifting heavy weights whilst grunting and swearing.
• Some men give unwanted advice.
• It isn’t uncommon to hear of a woman experiencing unwanted physical contact from other gym members.
• There’s an invasion of personal space.
• Some women report being looked at or catching men ogling them.

Some of these certainly carry more validity than others. Men shouldn’t be staring at you as you train. However, simply training with heavy weights doesn’t carry the same weight when we think about harassment.

In the UK, 3 out of 5 women reported feeling uncomfortable when going to the gym, mostly due to a man staring or offering unwanted attention.

Who Does This Affect?

There’s no denying that gym harassment happens mostly to women and can come from other gym-goers, personal trainers, or pretty much anyone else in the gym.

When looking at female gym-goers in the USA, you can find the following statistics:

• 40% of women say they sometimes feel unsafe while working out, and 7% say they often feel unsafe.
• 21% say they feel their workout performance is often lowered by this unwanted attention.
• 75% of women claim they’ve been catcalled at least once a week in the gym.
• 63% of female gym members have changed their workout routines or gyms to avoid harassment.
• 55.7% claim to dress modestly to avoid attention.

Lastly, the group of women who reported the most harassment events was aged 16 – 20 — a pretty shocking statistic.

It’s safe to say that women feel unsafe. Now, certainly, there are men who’ve also experienced this, but the data about these men are lacking.

One part of the experience that is not lacking is men calling out other men… but also women calling out men.

Influencers like Joey Swoll have come out on social media to make people aware that gym harassment is not okay. He’s also made a few videos defining the difference between harassment and ‘harassment.’

He argues that women sometimes argue that men stare, while the video simply shows the man glancing in her direction as he rests between sets. He did, however, offer to help her with her weights — very respectfully.

Why Does Gym Harassment Keep Happening?

There are multiple reasons why this could be happening. Some people argue it’s because of women, while others argue it’s the fault of the men. There’s no one reason why gym harassment keeps happening.

But we do know why it’s not happening:

• As long as your private parts are covered, you’re allowed to wear any attire that fits within the rules set forth by your gym.
• Lifting weights as a female is not only healthy but also massively beneficial to both your body and brain.
• Unless the rules of the gym say otherwise, all members are free to be in all areas of the gym, and they have a right to feel comfortable.
• Being stronger than the average male is only evidence that you’ve worked hard for your gains.
• Having more muscle than the average male speaks bounds about your work ethic and his lack of.

At the end of the day, people who make others feel uncomfortable lack manners. They lack mental growth in certain areas, and while most of these people are men, that doesn’t necessarily reflect all men — as we all know.

It’s wrong to make assumptions. At the same time, it’s easy to see why women would fear most men in a gym setting, as there’s no way to know if they would harass her or not.

How Can This Be Prevented?

The single best way for gym harassment to be prevented is by not having it happen in the first place. We might be veering into the world of social sciences, but there are several things that could be done from a young age to ensure humans don’t make others feel uncomfortable.

For example:

• Proper education from a young age that teaches equality between females and males
• Emotional education that enforces EQ development — creating a person incapable of gym harassment
• Many gyms have created female-only sections where any female can train in a safe space

It comes down to creating human intelligence that knows what’s wrong and what’s right. Unwanted comments, harassment, speaking private business to strangers, and making unwanted advances to strangers are all very wrong.

And you could argue that you made an advance to a person as a romantic interest, which is perfectly fine. A bit untimely in the gym, but again, it’s understandable.

However, if that person says, “No, thank you,” you have to leave — no questions asked. No means no.

Tips to Avoid Gym Harassment

As uncomfortable as it may seem, there are ‘tips’ women have been giving others to help them avoid feeling uncomfortable in the gym:

• Train at times when the gym isn’t as busy.
• Train with a male friend.
• Wear baggy and unrevealing clothing.
• Don’t train in the free weights section.
• Only train in the area of the gym named ‘safe place for women.’

Of course, these aren’t really helping the society, as the goal is to stop gym harassment and not mask it.

So here’s what people should actually be focusing on:

• Don’t stare at anyone training in the gym — looking for a moment is fine, but don’t stare.
• Don’t make comments about someone’s looks.
• Call other members out for harassment.
• Don’t touch other members unless it’s an emergency.
• Don’t give advice, and don’t talk to anyone.
• To ensure safety, don’t offer to walk someone to their car.
• Be respectful of other people’s personal space.

Some of you might be thinking that it’s a bit too much. Not even being allowed to talk to another human being without it being seen as harassment is wrong.

And I agree.

However, the fact of the matter is it’s not about you or me. It’s about other people.

Whether you like doing something or not, if someone else doesn’t, it’d be good manners not to do it. You don’t ‘have’ to speak to a woman in the gym unless it’s to ask for equipment.

Sure, you could express interest in her romantically if you want to, but you should also respect her mental health. If she says no, leave.

The one last option that many women have been choosing is a women-only gym. There’d be no male gym members, less harassment, and — according to women — they’d feel a lot more comfortable.

The sense that they’re safe would allow them to train harder, helping them even more with their health. Again, it seems like we’re putting a Band-Aid on a problem rather than just solving it to make feeling comfortable in all gyms easy.

Conclusion: Stop Harassment

In the end, we’re in the gym to exercise. Workouts were never meant to be a time to be incredibly social, and if you want to be social while training, bring a friend.

Tons of women have experienced gym harassment, and the statistics don’t lie. Other men have also noticed that harassment is a thing, and the idea of a women-only gym is becoming the only option for some women.

That said, some women do take it too far. Simply looking your way because you were in his line of sight is not sexual harassment. Staring at you intensely, yeah, that’s something else completely.

All things said and done, it’s up to the men and other gym members who harass to bring an end to this. It isn’t the responsibility of women to cover or only train at certain times of the day to avoid harassment.