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The idea of a women only gym seems innocent enough. After all, many women may feel more comfortable exercising in a gym where there are no men around. In a women only gym, they would be more likely to give and receive open advice on their health condition and their workout plan. With women-centric trainers, females could likely get better advice as well as have options for activities that may not be available in co-ed gyms. There are also religious factors to consider. Some women are simply prohibited to expose too much of their bodies to men.
But are women only gyms guilty of discrimination?
A women only gym means that no men are allowed. Period. No questions asked, right? There have been cases where men have tried to joining a women only gym and sued when they were denied access. There might be some question as to why a man would want to join a women only gym; whether his intentions are to simply be disruptive or because of some ulterior motive. However, there may very well be a good reason for a man to want to join a women only gym. It could be that there are no other facilities in his local area or region. It could be that the particular women only club meets with the man’s health requirements.
Despite the growing popularity of women only clubs, there are a handful of lawsuits that claim these clubs are discriminatory. In 2000, the Alaskan Human Rights Commission–at the behest of a disgruntled man–made an attempt to ban gender only health clubs. However, the result of that backfired when the Alaskan legislature made it legal for gender discrimination in Alaskan health clubs.
More recently, there was a case in 2005 where a civil rights group sued a women only club in Santa Rosa for potentially refusing entry of one man. It turned out that the women only gym had already been told to make changes to accommodate men in 2004, but had failed to do so. This refusal led to the 2005 case being brought up and consequently enforced.
What followed were successful lawsuits against women only gyms in Minnesota, Wisconsin, California and Orange County. Some of these cases were won on the premise that men were not only denied access to work out at the clubs but also because they were also denied employment. In a case against Women’s Workout World in Chicago, not only were men finally allowed to work at the gym, but the ones who were turned down were paid $30,000 in damages. In 1997, a lawsuit against a Massachusetts health club, Healthworks Fitness Center, ruled that the club could not exclude men.
And despite the small number of men opposed to women only health clubs, you would be surprised to find that they have actually gotten some support from NOW (National Organization for Women) who object to any law they feel is permitting discrimination.
Due to the amount of protests from angry women regarding rulings in favor of men, many states have passed legislation to permit single-sex health clubs that benefit both sexes. These states are Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Tennessee and New Jersey. NOW has objected to each of these rulings.
In another twist of events, in 2008 North Carolina sued Peak fitness for actually going from a women only gym to a co-ed gym! In this case, Peak fitness closed its women only Arboretum gym and notified members that they could use other Peak fitness facilities. Peak fitness would not release the contracts of those women who didn’t want to be forced to go to a co-ed gym. The state of North Carolina argued that Peak should have released those women from their contracts. The final ruling was that Peak fitness could not continue to take money from former Arboretum members without permission.
There are many opinions on the issue of women only gyms. The general feeling from most people is that it is fine to have women only gyms as long as there can be men only gyms as well. After all, it is true that men act differently when around only men, and so it only seems right to have a place where a man can work out comfortably without women present.
But for many women’s rights advocates, women only gyms and men only gyms open up the door for further discrimination against women in other areas. Many activist groups claim this could actually be a step back for women’s rights!
What do you think? Leave a comment below..
dumbest law ever……..
Only in America!!!!!!
80% OF ADULTS ARE OBESE AND NOT DISCOURAGING WOMEN WHO DONT WANT TO GO TO A REGULAR LADIES GYM BUT PREFER CURVE STYLE WORKOUT!
Only in America!!!!!!
The Washington Athletic Club was sued for being men only. The case was decided by the US Supreme Court. Single gender clubs are not allowed according to that case.
I opened an all women’s gym in 1997 before Curves franchising really took-off, (a real gym – not a Curves style) and all I can tell you is that any time spent in an all women’s gym will demonstrate exactly why they are necessary. There are many women who have been traumatized by experiences in their lives – abuse, rape, domestic violence, etc. and feel unsafe or awkward in a co-ed gym atmosphere. These women simply wouldn’t work out in any other atmosphere. I had many women trying to join who were overcome emotionally because they were so afraid to start working on themselves. Only someone with no empathy nor compassion would call women’s only gyms discriminatory.
The points you brought up are the primary reasons I feel there is nothing wrong with having a women-only facility. Though men and women are considered equal by law, women are more likely than men to experience physical and emotional abuse from a man than the other way around. (I know there are exceptions to that rule) Plus due to the fact that men and women are wired differently and have different needs, women only facilities are necessary in my opinion. Plus you girls definitely need a break from us guys. And you need to feel free to sweat your arses off without worrying about us judging you. Because men judge. Period.
I opened my first fitness center 9 years ago in Boulder Colorado. I believe the key is a fitness facility that blends young and old, male and female with quality care and good judgement. Our split is currently about 50/50 male to female. Most women who feel uncomfortable about large fitness centers and the meat market mentality, after a short period thank me for bringing them pure quality in our approach. If there is an issue it gets dealt with swiftly and intelligently. I believe that if there is a trauma in the past the best thing to do is learn about the quality relationship we can all have for each other. Separation has never been a good answer in my book. A loving and caring environment for people to get great exercise and feel intimidation is what I have put together and seems to be working very well. Thanks all for the comments on this subject. Ssm
Legally, they are discriminatory, period. Empathy and compassion have nothing to do with the law. Young boys get raped by men, and grow up to men themselves, maybe they need to go to a gym where they can feel safe too. There are all kinds of angles to look at this, but LEGALLY, it is discriminatory.
Men have lost boys groups (scouts, cubs, etc…) sports, all because females wanted to get into them too, but when it comes to sharing something of their own, that’s different.
Just look at sport interviews, women reporters are allowed into men’s changerooms, but men reporters are not allowed into women’s. Are they not all professional?
As a woman I hate the idea of women only clubs. Women fought hard for “equal rights”
In Portland Oregon they started women only times at city pools. After wasting many tax dollars and cutting men off from the pool they dropped the idea. The reason for women only hours was to allow religious women to swim. Men and women balance each other out, ladies get over yourself!
Sectioning off time for gender specific I’m not a fan of. I say all or nothing. To have a business open to both genders, then to say for two hours only men or only women can come seems like a bad idea. I can just picture the men standing outside with arms crossed staring at their watches glaring at the women inside waiting for the time slot to be up. Not good.
Terri
Congratulations for having the confidence to speak out so freely about this situation there are lots of women out there that are unable to do this. However it is often people such as yourself who have a single, blinkered view on life that creates these problems. You may not have any reason to question your confidence as you may have never been through the experiences that others have. Would you truly stand in front of a rape victim and tell her to, “get over herself”?
I really hope that someday the penny will drop and you will change your views i just hope it isn’t a traumatic experience that does it.
I own a non-intimidating 2,000 sq ft. co-ed 24 hour gym in a suburban area and struggling to break even. A women’s only gym (Not Curves but an independent) who has two locations on either side of me (let’s say 2 miles to the East and 4 miles to the West has two to three times as many members as I do. She’s doing something right. I’m doing something wrong. Their demographics are very similar to mine so kudos to them to keep that model of women’s only as long as they can. Now it’s time to decide if I should change my model.
J-
Niching is always better than not niching. If you’re interested in 30 minutes with one of my consultants to get some ideas to help your gym, let me know. It’s on the house.
I own a women-only gym. Although I never personally had an issue working out in co-ed gyms, when I became a personal trainer at a women-only facility, I definitely could see why many women would prefer it. Like it or not, our culture makes many women insecure about their bodies and that’s certainly compounded at gyms where men oggle women while they exercise.
As far as allowing men to work at female facilities, that seems to somewhat defeat the purpose of a women-only space. It may be fine at some gyms but I think should be up to the owner. If you are going to allow single-gender facilities then I don’t think you should force owners to hire the opposite sex to work there.
Regarding the Peak Fitness situation, I agree with the state of North Carolina. Most, or at least many, of the women who joined probably did so because it was a women’s gym. For Peak to change such a major component of its facility and then refuse to release members from their contracts is unethical.
The idea of a women’s only club is not an issue and I do not feel there should be anti-discrimination laws passed because of it. Ultimately NOW needs to get a grip! I do feel that there should be a law that requires club owners to provide equal facilities to both sexes if such laws exist. This is where discrimination becomes an issue for me. There should be a “his and hers” type arrangement. I am a club owner and in our larger locations we separate the free weight area from the cardio, circuit, group ex and kids fun zone for that purpose. Yes, some women use the free weights and vise-a-versa, but each are at a minority in the other’s space. As a former power lifter, I can tell you that when I am under a 500lb bench press I am not at all concerned with what comes out of my mouth… gym etiquette is much more important when women are around. It really just comes down to comfort for self-conscience women.
Why stop at separating people by sex? Why not have whites only gyms? How about gyms where Christians can workout without having Jews around? That sounds good. I feel uncomfortable working out around gay people. Can I open a straights only gym? That seems to be the entire argument for women’s only gyms. Just replace the word “women” with anything else (white, Christian, straight, Muslim) and you see how discriminatory this practice is. ON THE OTHER HAND, it’s a private club and they can do whatever they want.
I opened and all women’s gym back in 2003. We are a full service workout facility with many different amenities. It has been a blessing to many women who want to work on themselves without feeling inadequate among men. We have women who come to us for religious reasons and would not be able to workout at all if not for an all women facility. The women come to the facility to get energized, build friendships, and sweat their butts off. In order to get fit you have to workout dirty and get funky. Most women will not give it their all in the presence of men. It does not matter if you are married or in a relationship, we all want to be attractive to the opposite sex so the focus is not 100% on getting fit in a co-ed gym. I actually have received many letters and comments throughout the years from member’s husbands, boyfriends, etc. about having a great place for their women to escape, get fit and come home happy. An all women gym benefit both genders. Don’t hate!
If there are no more women only clubs does that mean no more chocholate milk?
When we allow the courts and the legislatures to make the determination no one wins. Let the market dictate the viable business models for the fitness industry. Let the consumer choose.
Well, I wonder how men feel when bars offer Girl drink free nights? Ladies can drink all they want…men have to pay for their drinks. Just something to think about. I can’t go down our hometown street with out seeing bar signs offering this. Wonder if the guys feel the same about this issue. Is this a fair deal?
Just saying.
About the gym’s, some states have laws in place for same sex clubs. It shouldn’t be an issue.
For some to collect 30 thousand dollars in damages because they were denied into the club. Wow!
How about worring about our gas prices and the shape of the economy and let the gyms do as they wish.
Yes, some of us guys don’t like the fact that woman are given free drinks/entry to lure guys in. Its cheap and discriminatory. Bars should offer free drink tickets to both sexs instead.
I mean seriously, in todays world, where men and women can earn a similar salary, would you always want to pay for the other person?
It’s funny I had been entertaining the idea of becoming a women’s only facility(Knowing that my facility was more appealing to women by design) and after attending BCBC I decided I was going to “niche” my studio as a women’s studio. Big reason is there are no women’s only places in the town I live in. And like it or not yes some women for whatever reason(religion,past sexual abuse, abusive jealous husbands who would freak if their woman was looked at) I personally would workout wherever but some women need the security of a women’s only. My husband had to make fun of me for going Ladies only. Not in a bad way but telling me how “exclusive ” I am
It’s not about discrimination , It’s about filling a need
We’ve had similar situation years ago here in Australia. In summary the ruling was that ladies were providing a service to a market (women) that they be unable to adequately provide if other markets (ie men) were there. Much the same way a retirement home can state you must be over the age of 60 to live there. None of these lawsuits have been successful.
This is one really interesting topic. I can understand why some people may feel this is wrong, but if you think back 50 years ago, there was nothing for women at all. In any industry!
The fact that people want to provide a service exclusively to women is a huge step forward in our society.
Especially if the all women’s club is owned by a woman!
Obviously this is a niche, but it’s still changing lives, and creating an environment for women to empower themselves.
Great article Curtis,
Until last year, I thought that women only gyms were reducing their target market by 50% off the bat.
However, I’ve recently been working (consulting) for a ladies only gym here in London UK, and can really see that the members value the privacy and intimacy of a women’s only club, and believe me, the member retention and referrals are fantastic!
The one concession is that they let men join in yoga classes, but I think that’s just so that they can laugh at them (us) as we are generally a lot less bendy!
Not aware of any lawsuits here in the UK, but then in that respect, we are a little different.
Keep up the good work,
Cheers, Guy
In reply to the PS about Curves owners on secret millionaire….. You are absolutely right about them paying more attention to the franchisees!. I am a Curves owner I have two clubs. It is an uphill battle with corporate. I see all the other Curves around me closing. It is very discouraging. I am actually merging my 2 clubs, so I can make some money. I am thankful for this site for offering countless ideas on how to grow my membership.
I know what you’re talking about! I actually had 3 Curves within 2 1/2 miles apart:ridiculous. AT the time, Curves was pushing the sale of Franchises and EVERYONE joined Curves! When the hype died down, I was starving in 2 of them. So I decided to merge all 3 with my original gym and now I’m much less stressed, & I’m mildly profitable. I was able to renovate my first one, open for 9 years now, which made my members very happy and the gym is on an upswing. I LOVE the Curves workout, especially with CurvesSmart and the Zumba in the circuit! It truly is the best workout you can get in 30 minutes. If it weren’t for the Ladies Only gym, we have many members who would NEVER go to a co-ed gym and NEVER get healthy. It’s such a wonderful community of ladies who keep each other motivated!
It’s tough, because in the content of gyms the argument works out. But how can you apply it exclusively to gyms and no other business can really do the same.
Great topic and discussion. As i read through all posts i noticed how my own thoughts changed. As a female I prefer a co-ed environment. I only use body weight & free weights for training which many women seem to prefer machines or cardio. I prefer male training partners because they push me harder. But I question what is the best direction as a trainer wanting to open a warehouse facility for my group/bootcamps. I felt women only would be a great niche. But as a busy mom I also see a strong need to also incorporate worthwhile youth programming in the same facility for convenience-and time efficiency.so then what about dad…and here I am again considering a co-ed facility. Curtis, I think I’ll take you up on the consult call
I am a woman and own a Curves and never stuck to any workout until I joined a Curves. I loved it so much I bought a franchise within a year. 8 years later it is still profitable even though we work much harder to keep and bring in new members. I would not be offended at all if an all male gym existed. Matter of fact some men don’t like working out with hot women because they are intimidated by them and in shape men. I also am not offended by an all male private university as many women are. Get over it!!!!! The women’s movement has been great but some things need to stay gender specific.
As a guy who actually ran a Women’s Only facility for several years I was privy to a unique perspective. Sure, most everybody initially wondered what the heck I was doing there. To which I’d respond just doing my job and making sure you ladies have a top notch facility.
I learned some of the women were in fact there because of traumatic events or they were self-conscious. Of course,there was also a group who could care less about my presence they liked the club, the services we offered, it was convenient, and cleaner then many of the coed clubs around town.They didn’t care who was in charge just keep doing the job and our club well run.
Then there were some who never voiced an opinion and just went on about their routine we interacted in no measurably different way than if we were in a coed club whether they acknowledged the difference or not I’ll never know.
In all clubs we are dealing with different personalities, perspectives, and people in general. As fitness professionals it’s our job to fulfill needs. As business professionals it’s our job to identify a niche that is under-served and serve it.Womans only clubs do both and more for some.
The great thing about America is we can choose! As a guy there are mens only clubs or coed facilities you can join which will have plenty of women you can flirt with if that’s your thing.
The bad thing about America is that we have become overly litigious society where someone sees a potential legal angle and will try to capitalize without doing any work or having been harmed in any way.
Stop wasting time looking for an EASY way and go contribute.
Maybe someone should do an Idiots only concept!
I have been a cheerleading and tumbling coach for 35 years, so it is fair to say that most of my income is derived from females. But a few years ago I had a group of young men who were interested in tumbling class if it could be an all male class. And I am talking about young men, ages 6-12. I was happy to get some male interest, so I said, sure, and the class begin last June with 10 guys. And I got a complaint from one lady that it was wrong to hold just a all male class. So to avoid possibly more complaints, I opened it up to co-ed. I don’t want to get into a male, female battle, but I do think that if women are allowed to have all female gyms, then it should be legal that men have an all male gym. That is just from a being fair stand-point, but personally I like coed gyms, and I feel the majority do too, plus with the economy, singe sex gyms would have to be large to financially survive. I’m kind of getting off the subject, but I think that it should be legal to have an all females or an all male gym. Personally, I would only be a member of a co-ed gym.
The article and every comment presupposes that the practice of “discrimination” should be government regulated and therefore everyone misses the point.
The result is all sorts of ambiguity and talk of abuse blah blah blah.
People have a right to discriminate, or at least they should. Discrimination is the ability to see obvious (as well as not so obvious) differences and to cater to them.
Also, freedom includes freedom of association.
This is an example of how the issue gets muddled…
You have the freedom to choose whom you work. Employees are free to discriminate against employers for any reason they wish. Should not employers should have the same freedom?
If you believe in a free market system, then just say so, and not just pay lip service to it.
If you are a statist, then stop being double-minded… discrimination is against the “law” regardless.
Let’s have markets, not the government, determine the consequences of “discrimination.” In a real free market system single sex gyms would not even be an issue!
How about a gym with no black people?
Man, whatever the girls are saying about men, I’ll say about blacks.
Can I not have a gym of white only peopel so i can feel safe/
See how stupid this is? Every owner of a female only gym should be jailed and their entire life saves should be mailed to men.
Some blacks are more comfortable working out in black-only facilities. Some whites are more comfortable working out in white-only facilities. Shall we have black- and white-only facilities too??
I was watching my husband play golf on the playstation and a conversation came up about the masters not letting women in.So this prompted me to look into the prevelance of women only clubs.I think the only reason men are so mad about women only gyms is because we took away the only thing that bothers them.Not having ass to look at in the gym.If these were all bridge clubs nobody would care.
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What dont men just go to one of the million mised or mens gyms and stop acting like big babies. Uff
Terri- the comment you made (“women, get over yourselves”) and to so easily use the word “hate” when you discussed women’s only gyms made me feel sorry for you and your mentality on this issue. I am a 27 year old woman who reverted to Islam. A year before I reverted I had signed up at a local gym, only to never once go; although I wanted to very much so. I did not feel comfortable in a male dominated facility and could not work up the courage to “get over it”. I had been a victim of physical and sexual violence in the past. I ended up cancelling my membership. I have been looking to find a women’s only gym in my area for some time now, only to feel unfulfilled with what Curve’s has to offer. Now that I am Muslim, I feel even stronger about not wanting to be around men in such an environment. There is a great need for a women’s only facility, and the people who are trying to push lawsuits against this is ridiculous. You don’t see lawsuits against the Eagle Scouts or the Free Masons for not allowing women in their societies. Most women respect and understand the need to keep certain organizations same-sex. There were over 2.5 million Muslims in America alone last year with over half of that number being represented by women. Speaking from a business standpoint, it makes so much sense to have women’s only gyms- it will put money back into the community/economy and it will give some women who otherwise would not have a safe outlet and environment to out in, whether it be to lose weight, feel good about themselves, have a girl’s day, or just get out of the house. Gender discrimination lawsuits?? People need to start getting real and quit making a mockery of this country.
If there was a women’s-only gym near me, I would go join it. I worked out twice in a coed and left after one too many guys kept sauntering over to “correct my form” for me. When I work out, I don’t want some man standing behind me and fixedly ogling my ass through my not-at-all provocative long sweat pants. I’m not there for a date, I’m there to get FIT. But some men seem to think I’m there for both, and they’ll try to interrupt my workout with some cheesy lines and suggestive comments about my figure, even when I have headphones on. I’m not dressed cheaply or wearing a sports-bra with no shirt, I’m dressed in a tshirt and pants and I’m not advertising myself, so I don’t see why I should have to put up with it. I got tired of it and left and now I don’t get half as good a workout at home.
If women-only gyms are the only way I can get a peaceful workout without being stared at and harassed, then so be it! Next I suppose you’ll tell me they’re making all public bathrooms co-ed because the men’s room was out of order once and some man sued for not being able to use the women’s. You owned the whole damn world for thousands of years, men, just let us have some stupid gyms.
In my opinion, women only gyms are not guilty of discrimination. We feel better when joining a gym where’s no man there and we feel free to share women stuff and not being shy of men.
I am a trainer who has put a studio in my home here in Colorado Springs. I have shared space at other stuidos and the last one I was at the women were not comfortable at all with the male trainer that was there. He never trained them but something about him made them uncomfortable. Since switching to my home studio, I have also switched to training women only. Having said that, I do train men, but they seem to be the ones that are just as uncomfortable with the big gym atmosphere. I just train them separately and it has worked out. The women I train are the same women that would not step foot in a regular gym, but needed one step up from curves.
how about getting rid of muslim men
fuck you bitches
Women-only health clubs, REGARDLESS of the reason why, are obviously discriminatory and actually serve to make the lives of women more difficult. Good-looking men are ogled by women in co-ed gyms – does that mean that such men should have their own health club? Of course not! It is wrong to cater to fears; that only enables the fears further. Female-only health clubs damage the concept of equal rights for women.