
If youโve stepped foot inside a gym recently, you may have noticed the rising trend of fitness centresย accommodating womenโs only time slots and facilities.
Now, this feature is not only incorporated in corporate gym chains, but also on university campuses.
Ryerson University, for instance, is currently looking into creating specific gym hours for female users.
โStudents came to us and said โthis is a need that we haveโ and weโve been working with students to make it happen,โ said Melissa Palermo, president of the Ryerson Studentsโ Union (RSU).
โThere are women on campus that werenโt able to use [the facilities] for religious reasons or for reasons to do with past experiences when they would have felt uncomfortable in those situations with men.โ
Nothing has been finalized, however.
โRight now weโre just in the lobbying process,โ she added.
When asked about any vocal opposition to segregated gym times Palermo could not point to any.
โWeโve collected over a thousand, I think close to two thousand, surveys and the response has actually been overwhelmingly positive. Most people of all genders actually have been quite accepting of the idea and have responded in really positive ways.โ
However, a Facebook post by RSU from last month, which outlined the plan to create womenโs only gym times, generated some online criticism.
One commentator wrote that men and women should not be segregated in any sort of university facility.
While it is still up for debate at Ryerson, other campuses have already accepted gendered gym times as the norm.
Larissa Sage, a masterโs student at the University of Toronto already experiences segregated gym times at her schoolโs gym.
โI donโt see any reason not to have it,โ she said. โItโs not like the entire gym goes into lockdown mode and only women are allowed in.โ
Sage dismissed the argument that these policies cut down on menโs opportunities to access facilities. โIf there are enough men saying โI would like thatโ [segregated hours for men] then Iโm sure any quality establishment would consider that as well.โ
Wilfrid Laurier University is among other universities looking at creating womenโs only gym hours.
Pat Kitchen, associate director of recreation and facilities at WLU explained that some women may feel more comfortable working out during segregated gym times.
โUltimately our goal is to get as many students in the space being healthy and active,โ she said.
โWhen we actually designed for the addition and renovation we knew that we wanted to have the ability to have womenโs only [capabilities]โ added Kitchen.
When asked about any concerns over the segregated facilities, Kitchen assured that Laurier has โdesigned it such that in the segregated space there is a range of equipment so you can go in there and have the same experience that you would have in the rest of the fitness center except for some of the high free weights.โ
She added, โso males and other women that maybe donโt care to have a segregated system will have lots of room.โ
Not only will there be plenty of equipment during the womenโs only hours but segregated areas and programs will provide opportunities for new-comers of both genders.
As more fitness centres begin to provide exclusive hours or areas for female users, the debate of segregation continues to be a hot topic amongst campuses.
โItโs not just for women, but even for males that might be new to [gym] experiences,โ Kitchen said.
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