I’ve been a member of a busy, London-based budget gym for about five years and have witnessed a lot of casual sexism on the gym floor in this time. The atmosphere can sometimes be akin to a nightclub, with the same sexual politics. Personal trainers frequently act in a way that wouldn’t be considered appropriate in other industries: touching young women and encroaching on their personal space during one-to-one sessions.
Their interactions with young women often come across as chatting them up, whereas older people are generally ignored. I think, if you looked at the CCTV footage of who they engage with, it would be very telling. There have been times when I’ve wanted to tap into the expertise of the personal trainers, but I’ve always had to take the initiative. As a male in my 50s, they’ve never approached me and rarely acknowledge me.
My daughters, who are both in their 20s, feel uncomfortable in this environment and have decided to stay at the posher, more expensive family-orientated club which we all used to go to together. I wonder how many other women have been driven away from gyms because they feel uncomfortable?
As far as I can see, most of the time this behaviour is not with nasty intent: it’s ignorance, and in some ways might be seen as compensation for a lack of professional confidence. These instructors need to be taught how to behave in an appropriate way around women, and to be mindful about dealing with all members equally.
In my opinion, an official code of conduct is needed – one that sets the boundaries for how fitness instructors relate to customers, and particularly female ones, in terms of personal space, touching and what women are asked to do. There should be a mode of interaction, so women don’t feel they’re being chatted up if they’re having a PT session or being engaged in gym-floor conversation. It should be part of their training and qualifications, and the gym management should also have a duty of care to their clients.
I’m concerned that, at present, there appear to be no clear boundaries, and that this issue isn’t being addressed in training or taken seriously by some operators. The manager of my gym was baffled when I mentioned it to her.
No-one seems to be talking about this, or even interested in it, which suggests that – when it comes to some of the most basic elements, and potential pitfalls, of human interaction – gym culture is really still in the Stone Age.