Misogynistic men seem to feel their most comfortable in the free weights section of the gym and the comments section of the internet.
Despite what incels and assholes say, the fitness world is still overwhelmingly geared towards straight men, and any attempt to make fitness spaces more welcoming of women and gays tends to quickly receive a load of backlash from self-righteous indignant assholes like amateur bodybuilder Kenzie Atkins.
Atkins wrote an article a while back on 4 reasons why gyms should be men-only for what-the-fuck website ‘Return of Kings’. I was curious to see if there were any valid arguments and then spent the next 20 minutes sending hilariously misogynistic quotes to my housemate just to see how angry she could physically get.
Before Atkins starts his argument, he qualifies his opinions by saying that he has no problem with women going to the gym.
“Lets be clear here—I am in no way trying to argue that women should not work out. After all, women only have any discernible sexual marketplace value (SMV) for about ten years, with it dropping dramatically after they reach their thirties.
… Anything that gets women to look after themselves so that they can be more appealing to men is a winner in my book.”
So let’s look at some of his arguments and see how practical they are.
Note: This article is DRIPPING with sarcasm. Those in the front row will get wet.
1. It would increase testosterone levels and competitiveness
Atkins correctly points out that there is a connection between exercise and an increase in testosterone levels, with weight training giving a bigger boost than other workouts. And since testosterone is the building block of masculinity, men need more of it.
“There has also been a strong link between increases in testosterone and men in close proximity or working out together. It appears that just being around other men with racing testosterone levels can help to increase your own hormonal balance.”
I know that my hormone levels TOTALLY peak when I’m working out next to a load of sweaty, masculine men all trying to show off their msucles, so maybe I’m with him on this one. Let’s make it easier for gays to ogle and perv over those guys that want the attention. #equality
2. It would mean that men would only give up equipment for other men
At this point Atkins highlights that a man should NOT have to rearrange his workout to accomodate a weaker woman’s workout. She shouldn’t even be doing weights anyway, she “in all reality should be concentrating on cardio to lose that fat rather than a more masculine workout.”
So in his new men-only scenario he would be more comfortable rearranging his workout to fit around another man undertaking a proper workout. Which is quite nice considering I take AGES on the squat rack to make sure that my ass looks as perky and peachy as possible.
Since he’s so welcoming of men working out, let’s flood his gym floor with deep-squatting gay guys in leggings and thank him for his acceptance of our community. (JK, Atkins is of course massively homophobic, as are those that comment in support of the post).
3. It would stop the distractions
Image: Instagram @veggievince
This is where he starts to lose me, as he claims that fewer women would cause fewer distractions. Granted I will probably do less chatting in between sets, but I might take a few extra seconds to catch my breath and catch a glimpse of the boys squatting next to me.
4. It would encourage brotherhood and male bonding
And now I’m back on board. You can be damn sure that in a men-only gym there would be a hell of a lot of “bonding”. Let’s give it a go and see how long before the men-only gym of his dreams becomes a MASSIVE cruising spot.
Girls and gays in the gym
Now that I’ve got all that sarcasm out of my system, I think it’s fairly plain to see how women and gay men need to stand up for each other against fuckwits like Kenzie Atkins. Despite how far we’ve come as a society, the very fact that this numb-nuts website has over 52k followers on Twitter just goes to show how misogyny is still very much a problem and affects both gay men and women.
So do whatever you can to make sure that people like this don’t stop you or your female friends from doing what you want to do, training how you want to train and acting how you want to act.
What do you think about a men-only gym? Let us know on Twitter or in the comments below!