I like to go to the gym at lunch time because it’s deserted and I can usually get on whatever machines I like. Yesterday was a little weird because almost all the elliptical machines were taken, and mostly by men. So I got on the only free one between two guys, and we all did the normal polite nods to each other then went about our sweaty business.
Right away I noticed the guy to my right turning and looking at me, but I just shrugged it off. Then he started making little grunting and gasping noises, which I also shrugged off because, hey, we’re at the gym, sometimes you do what you need to get through a workout. His weirdness kept escalating, with him talking to himself and whistling loudly, and I could tell he was leaning forward on the machine and looking at me, trying to catch my eye.
It was so frustrating because he wasn’t doing anything too awful at any given point, but this weirdness went on for 20 minutes while I went round and round in my head “should I look over at him and glare, or ask if he has a problem? Maybe he’s not really looking at me and it just seems like it in my peripheral?” And on and on.
By the time he got off I was all tense and aggravated by trying to figure out what was going on, that I didn’t notice him reaching over to tap my shoulder until he was already touching me. I over-reacted a bit and leaned away from him and smacked his hand away, loudly saying “What is your problem!?”. I think I made a little bit of a scene, but it was just a knee jerk reaction from being so uncomfortable for so long.
He looked startled and immediately left, rubbing his hand, and it made me wonder if the only way to get men to stop harassing women on the street is to start hitting them. Or maybe that’s just an angry reaction.
Submitted by CS
Location: Bally’s 2970 Belcrest Center Dr #202 Hyattsville MD, 20782
Time of harassment: Day Time (9:30A-3:30P)
Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment or assault you would like to submit? Just click here and fill out the online submission form. All submissions are posted anonymously unless you specify.
 |
i’m so sorry. i go to this gym too and i constantly get harassed: kissy noises coming from the weights area while i walk to the locker room, stares that last too long when i’m on the treadmill…it’s gross. and it often happens when i’m too into my workout and out of breath to hollaback. maybe we should complain to management? it annoys me that when i’m just trying to do something good for myself i still have to deal with this bs.
Yes! I’ve complained to management at my gym when I’m leeringly “offered a towel” (i. e. shoved in my face while I’m reading and have my earbuds in) when it is quite clear that I already have one with me.
I say bully for you that you smacked his hand! Look what they’ve reduced us to: violence! He deserved it and don’t you question yourself for a minute. How would you like to be 65 years old and still harassed? Look online and you’ll see how common this problem is. One blog I saw showed that 86.15% of women said they were harassed at a gym.
The plain truth is that they don’t want us in their domain and this is how they go about getting rid of us. They want us to go to women-only gyms. I would gladly do that, but the woman-only gym that I had been going to for 15 years was purchased by a creep who harassed the women so I left! It seems you can’t win unless you want to use exercise dvd’s in you home all the time. Their biggest muscle is between their ears. What dorks.
Pingback: Learning How to Run | The Fitness Grind