From: Chuck.Lavazzi@bbs.oit.unc.edu (Chuck Lavazzi)
Subject: Re: sexism in health spas
Keywords: weights
Organization: Extended Bulletin Board Service
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 17:22:09 GMT

In article <1992Jul28.153130.20520@unislc.uucp> kbiesel@unislc.uucp (Karen Biesel) writes:
>Here's a new one that I thought would never happen to me.  My husband and I
>are members of the Holiday Spa.  We both paid the same amount membership fees.
>
>The manager has the spa set up with seperate men's, women's and co-ed areas.
>The manager, a man, put all the nautilus and other single item machines in
>the men's exercise area.  This prohibits women from using the machines.
	The manager has a lot to learn if he wants to stay in business in a
competitive market.  The major local health club chain (Vic Tanny - part of
the Bally empire) gave up on separate men's and women's exercise facilities
years ago.  The setup varies by club, but basically there's a large area for
"machines" (rowers, steppers, bikes, Nautalis and similar devices) and a
separate "free wieght" are for the really serious weight trainers.  This
actually makes a lot more sense since the division is based on what you want
to accomplish instead of biological sex.  The men usually outnumber the women
in the free weight area, but *exclusively* male it's not.  The YMCA (where I
usually go on my lunch hour) has a similar setup.

>
>I, <equalist> that I am, decided to go and use the equipment anyway.  So what
>if it was in the men's gym area.  It existed nowhere else.  (We're talking
>10+ pieces of fancy stuff)
>
>I was ushered out of the men's gym area, needless to say.  Women have there own
>area to exercise in, I was told.  The women's gym has pulley weights that offer
>the same range of motion as the machines in the men's gym.
>(I talked to the regional manager on the phone, to discuss the issue, and he
>hung up on me!)
	Ditto for what I said about the local manager, unless you were being
exceptionally rude.  You don't hang up on a customer if you want to stay in
business.  Health clubs aren't a government monopoly.  If enough people are
disgusted by what looks to be a combination of sexism and customer-be-damned
arrogance thye'll take their trade elsewhere and Holiday Spa will either change
or fold.  That's what you should do, assuming there's another spa in the area.
	And if you do go elsewhere, send the regional manager a letter telling
him exactly why you did that, and encourage all your friends to go elsewhere
as well.  You'd be amazed what market pressures can do to attitudes...>:-)>

>
>OK I'm bitter.  But is this common practice throughout, to have seperate
>exercise areas for men and women?  Is it men or women who are embarrassed to
>be looked at, or is this a Utah thing?
>
	IMHO, this is an Utah thing.  I've been to clubs locally (St. Louis)
as well as Dallas, Chicago, and Sunnyvale, CA and never encountered this
situation.

>Anyway, this is the first time I've been denied the use of exercise equipment
>because of my sex.  
>
>Can anyone beat this story?  I need to be cheered up.
>
>Karen Biesel
>
Chuck
No .sig, no frills, no foolin'



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