Men appear to be feeling left out and are complaining of “segregation” over an all-women gym in Kansas that even blocks people from getting a sneak peek of the insides with its tinted windows.
The gym, known as Blush Fitness in Overland Park, Kansas, made exclusively for women, keeping in mind the safety and comfort of female gym-goers, has set off a debate over “segregation” and “oppression.”
Heather Huesman, 23, shared her experience of the gym in a TikTok video which went viral with more than 6 million views since shared.
The video shows the gym’s features — tinted windows, access to members-only with a key fob, and availability of free menstrual hygiene products in the bathroom.
Though all-female gyms aren’t a new concept, the Kansas gym seems to offers full-proof privacy from outsiders. It even notifies gym goers of the timing when male staff members will be working inside the gym.
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Ms Huesman told Buzzfeed she felt safer in the gym and didn’t have to “worry about men taking photos of me without my permission” or “feel uncomfortable while” in a gym with men.
“I don’t think the gym promotes segregation at all. I think if someone is mad that there’s an all-women’s gym, it’s because they want women [in their co-ed gym] for a reason,” she said.
The viral video of the gym has divided the opinions of the people. While some men and women supported the idea of a gym that would protect women from uncomfortable gaze, others decried “inequality” and “discrimination.”
One said: “Swear we’re going backward in time.” Others also joined in to call it a “thing of the past” and mocked the idea.
“Wait..men..feeling excluded from spaces. wow.. wonder how women feel literally everyday,” said a user on Tiktok.
“If you’re mad about Blush Fitness existing you clearly overlooked the whole reason(s) why it was created. Men if you don’t want to be excluded in a safe space for womxn then maybe don’t make every other space unsafe for them?” said a user on Twitter.
Last month, a woman called out a man in public, who secretly took a photo of her while she was working out. Janelle Rodriguez shared videos on Tiktok asking the man to take down her picture.
