Help me get rid of 'women only hour' at the University of Toronto's gym

chocoboat · 2015-09-15T21:38:32+00:00

I think the source of your complaint should be around the fees.

Use the same discrimination policy that they use to justify the women only hours against them.

Say whether women choose to use the facilities or not is not your concern. Don't challenge women's access - it's not your concern. Challenge the less services you get for your money.

What is your concern is that you are paying equal fees for less access and that is discriminatory towards you.

Either charge me lower fees or grant me full access.

Bananahelicopter · 2015-09-15T22:23:01+00:00

Your primary angle should be since your a men shouldn't have to pay the same fees as women since men have less access time than women do.

Secondary being refused due to my gender.

I'm tired of the excuse women use for this is; they are self concious of their bodies, don't want men ogling them etc.... get the fuck over it, and nut up. Other women seem to manage co-ed gyms no problem.

Ontario Human Rights Commission

File a claim

Document you're process with them, and if they reject it. Because they might since you're going up the clam empire. Contact Barbara Kay of the National Post. She has an interest in these matters.

Lethn · 2015-09-15T18:38:09+00:00

There's no need to try and take it away, simply ask why men can't have their own hours, if they give you a sexist response, point that out and watch the chaos start.

If you just go around trying to shut things down and attack people over their use of language then you're no better than feminists, much better to prove they're being deliberately sexist by trying to stamp out any male only events. We've had a lot more people chatting here ever since feminists started actively trying to shut down Mens Rights events and sabatoge people who disagreed with them.

victorymonk · 2015-09-15T19:12:51+00:00

At their website:

The Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education has a long-established policy of offering women-only hours to ensure equitable participation in physical activity.

The word "equitable" here is the best.

EDIT: Does Canada have some version of Title IX?

fuck_ya_bud · 2015-09-15T23:38:52+00:00

In Ontario you can not descriminate on several 'prohibited grounds', one of which being sex. Not to mention, these are prime hours they're taking away. I'm in London, ON and willing to help any way that I can.

Worst case scenario, you're trans and identify as a woman. Let them try to deal with that!

GHGCottage · 2015-09-15T20:14:02+00:00

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jimmywiddle · 2015-09-15T21:24:56+00:00

As others have said I would either :

Stop attending the gym and request a refund or
Request male only hours as well, claim that as man you find it embarassing to be exercising in front of women who often stare at you and make you feel uncomfortable. Also state that as part of your unique religion its normally forbidden for men to be exercising. Also get a bunch of your friends to do the same thing and fill in forms requesting it as well.

Based on the risk of being accused of discrimination on gender, race and religion they should set aside men only hours.

Having said that you are in Canada the land of the crazy and radical where radical feminist nut jobs seem to lurk everywhere and control everything.

SlashSero · 2015-09-15T18:41:40+00:00

I would plug in some earphones, listen to music and ignore the whole thing. Continue your workouts and say you do not want to be bothered if they start talking to you. If they force you to leave file a complaint and repeat the exact same thing until they stop asking or your complaint is listened to. You paid for the right to use the facility and I assume you didn't sign on a condition that you couldn't use the gym from 1 to 2 pm.

Abcdefghiqwertyuiop · 2015-09-15T19:14:36+00:00

"The Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education has a long-established policy of offering women-only hours to ensure equitable participation in physical activity."

plasmafire · 2015-09-16T01:09:19+00:00

Demand a men only hour, it's only fair.

CooperAndHerSon · 2015-09-15T23:43:04+00:00

Say you identify as a woman and then just don't leave.

JayBopara · 2015-09-16T03:42:33+00:00

I would say the problem with handing back 1/24th of your gym fees for not being able to access to gym during "women's hour" is that 1pm-2pm is prime time to use the gym. And 1/24th is not anywhere near sufficient compensation. As you have pointed out it is costing you 3 hours on a day. That is unreasonable.

Is there a women's only gym somewhere nearby? Perhaps the university can partner with that organization and any women who have androphobia can go there at any time they choose. And if women want this option they should pay extra for it. That appears to be a much better solution. It should be the people who are denying access to all the other members who should be inconvenienced instead of a small group of people inconveniencing everyone else. Particularly when this small group of people could rightly be considered androphobic. Is it possible to suggest something along these lines OP?

ThePigmanAgain · 2015-09-15T22:07:46+00:00

If i was doing curls with a pair of five pounders i wouldn't want any men around either! Seriously, this is a fucking serious infringement of your rights as a member. If there is a way for you to get this shit shut down under Canadian law you should pursue it.

Jonesey505 · 2015-09-16T04:43:54+00:00

You should sue the gym. A UK based MRA, Peter Lloyd did this and published the following article about it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2311098/Peter-Lloyd-Why-Im-suing-gym-sexist-women-hours.html

tygertiger · 2015-09-16T02:12:10+00:00

OP - contact CAFE. They're based in Toronto and they might be able to offer you access to free legal counsel or advice. They also have some money behind them. Your cause goes hand in hand with the banning of men's issues groups on campus at Toronto universities.

MenandBoysareGood · 2015-09-15T23:48:31+00:00

Get a good size group of men to sign something that requests a men's only time slot. Then if they refuse bring it up with the news media.

tallwheel · 2015-09-16T01:25:28+00:00

I think even if one doesn't care about this issue in itself, it is good to challenge things like this on principle. It may get people to open their eyes and question whether these women-prioritizing policies are actually a step forward, rather than a fall backward. One could hope, at least. I really admire men like Peter Lloyd who are bringing similar challenges in the UK and spreading awareness of such issues.

Sterling_Irish · 2015-09-16T13:21:30+00:00

I think this might be legal under the Ontario Human Rights Act. Reference

Sterling_Irish · 2015-09-16T13:55:05+00:00

[permanently deleted]

Meistermalkav · 2015-09-16T15:08:34+00:00

Simple.

It's a three pointer.

get all the facts. Make a folder. Document everything you get because of this.
have your cellphone with you. Make sure your cellphone can record sound. Now, go in, while the womans only hour is still fresh, and go and work out, with your earbuds in.
They will attempt to get you to leave. At this point, take out your cellphone, smile, tell them to just a second, and prime it to record. Then, ask them why are you asked to leave.
Ask the following questions:

"Sounds great. So, I am able to deduct the time I am unable to use your services from my membership?"
"So, when will be the mens only prime hour training session? "
"So, I am expected to donate 2 hours of my time I can use the gym, donate it to a womans only gym, and do not get compensated for that? "

Then, you file for a removal of the gym from the premises due to gender based discrimination. If the gymn does not budge, you pull the classic 5 way:

show up as normal, and go, it's ok, I identify as female. Make them proove you wrong.
show up in womans workout clothes, and say, it's ok, I am a pre-op transgender man.
show up with a Hijab on. Refuse to take it off for training. If thy assume you are female, offer to show your genitalia, if they in turn do the same inspection with all of the other females on the grounds.
show up and just hang up signs stating that now is a mens only gym hour, and would all females please leave the gymn and respect the male safe space. Make sure the signs are easy to remove, and do not leave
organise a student led workout on the lawn. So, they look into the womans only gym. Get some music going, and organise an aerobics two hour program. Argue that while the gym has the high point on its premises, what you do outside the gym is none of the gyms concern. Talk to other gyms in the area. Their aerobics teachers are known for being notoriously short on cash, and would most likely willingly agree to hold open air test session. Nothing aggrevates a gym more then even potentially loosing customers.

The objective is here to get the gymn removed from the premises of the university, due to gender discrimination. Of course, the soft solution that you do not mention and leave open to them is to simply cancel womens only hour.

If you need more inspiration, get a PM going.

ThePigmanAgain · 2015-09-15T22:11:46+00:00

"During women-only swimming hours:Windows and doors are completely covered"

In other words, "Not only do we keep the niggers out, but we also make sure they can't lay their filthy black eyes on your sacred white flesh." Jesus Fucking Christ.

2015-09-16T02:38:41+00:00

Let me know who to call/e-mail/meet and I'll get it done.

chmbrs · 2015-09-16T05:38:50+00:00

Talk to your college. This is an uphill battle that you are going to lose, but it's worth fighting. I too was pissed off that I wasn't allowed the same time that the women were.

You could make a scene about it. Go in a dress.

Perhaps refuse to leave.

Mostly though you are screwed. When you leave u of t you will probably get a membership at goodlife where you will pay the same amount as the women but have entire gyms off limit to you.

Edit: ask them when the whites only hour is.

kursdragon · 2015-09-16T07:44:58+00:00

http://physical.utoronto.ca/Contact.aspx This is their contact, I'm sure some of us could give em a call or something of the sort and try to talk to them about it, if they see a lot of people view it as a problem, they may feel the need to change it.

Sasha_ · 2015-09-16T10:56:24+00:00

You should talk to Peter Lloyd - the British journalist who took a gym to court for the same reason.

fredg7 · 2015-09-16T15:36:20+00:00

You can file a complaint, right?

rjmk · 2015-09-16T03:32:06+00:00

Collect a large sum of men, and do a gym-in. Just keep working out when they tekk you to leave

SW9876 · 2015-09-15T21:09:06+00:00

There is nothing you can do. Women have all the power.

sillymod · 2015-09-16T00:28:10+00:00

I understand your desire to do this, but think about the bigger issues.

If you don't actually need/want to use that specific time, and are just doing it on the principle, you are actually harming the PR of the MRM. Moving forward, we should be focusing on the bigger issues, showing people that men are not disposable and are in fact deserving of concern. Then these other issues can be addressed once those bigger issues are resolved.

2015-09-16T16:37:16+00:00

Tell them you self-identify as a woman.

madarapt1 · 2015-09-16T08:21:34+00:00

I might get some imaginary internet flak for this, but hear me out bud. I know it's some sorry shit that you have to wait around for 3 hours for your workout, because of gender discrimination. Id be pissed about that too, especially if I had to pay 300$+ to use the damn gym. But the fact is, there are probably many many women at your campus who have been victims of some sort. They could probably use the time at the gym without anxiety of being watched, it's an issue, yeah. Sometimes things suck. I wouldn't recommend trying to stop their "long lasting policy" simply ask for some sort of refund. The fact of the matter is, there are definitely many young girls out there who have been the victims of rape, and they could fucking use the women's only time at that gym.

Is it unfair that you have to pay for time that you're barred from the gym? Yeah man, fuck that shit. I would definitely ask for some sort of refund, to buy myself some Dumbbells that I could rep with to warmup on the wait before my routine at the machines.

Don't try to stir shit up, don't listen to these assholes. You won't get anywhere, and those few chicks could probably use a distraction-free hour at the gym to get shit done. You know what I'm saying bud?

Drinkable_Pig · 2015-09-16T03:07:03+00:00

Hey u/Sterling_Irish,

Former York U gym employee here. I don't know how I can add to this so if you have any questions about how we did/still do women's only hours I might be able to answer them.

Basically at York, we have a squash court sized fitness area which was used for women's only gym time. The usage is small however, between 0-5 on average over a 3 hr period.

Tait is over crowded half the time and what I've noticed is that, the gym is used by women who want a bit more space as overflow and some religious women who feel more comfortable with no men around.

I'll be honest, while its technically discrimination, this is an uphill battle with little return imo. As someone who worked there and works in a fitness industry, I also understand the need for it as there can be some creeps at the gym and, theoretically, it may seem like a good idea.

I understand the need for equal rights, but I have to ask, are you sure you want to do this?

Ps. I feel like I'm forgetting to say something important so I'll add it later if I remember.

Edit: u/ballzntingz and u/sillymod make good points. I think you should read them.

Title	Help me get rid of 'women only hour' at the University of Toronto's gym
Author	Sterling_Irish
Upvotes	305
Comments	113
Date	September 15, 2015 6:34 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/3l2n69/help_me_get_rid_of_women_only_hour_at_the/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/help-me-get-rid-of-women-only-hour-at-the.971287 https://theredarchive.com/post/971287

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