Entering any gym can be an unnerving task for any person, at the LMU Burns Recreation Center, students are no exception. This seems to be especially true for female students trying to stay fit among the dominating male presence throughout the gym.
“The culture at the LMU gym is very much ‘gym bro’ social hour and feels very unwelcoming,” said current senior Julianna Delehman.“The weight section is almost always full of groups of men talking while working out, and taking up a lot of space.” Delehman said.
The male-dominated atmosphere in the gym can be a deterrent for young women who want to work out in peace.
Delehman has had many discussions with her friends about the Burns gym causing anxiety for women. “Working out is a vulnerable thing and I think the culture at Burns makes it a lot more difficult,” Delehman said.
Michelle Kiser, the Director of Fitness and Wellness at the Burns Recreation Center , arrived six years ago and was astounded by the gym’s unorganized layout when she first arrived six years ago. Kiser found the layout to be intimidating for all newcomers, especially young women. and how intimidating it was for newcomers when she arrived six years ago.
Just six years ago, the floor was carpet, which can cause serious damage if a weight were to fall on the ground.
As soon as anyone walked into the gym, the free weight section would be the first exhibit to see, “As a female, I don’t want to walk by men doing free weights. When I first walked into the place, I had some girls ask me where the cardio machines were because they couldn’t get to the end to find them without being intimidated.”
Instead of walking straight to the free weights, Kiser changed the layout so girls would not be intimidated on their way to work out. it so that girls would walk through machines, rather than a male-dominated activity. Despite the LMU gym not being a welcoming space for women, Kiser tried her best and did a complete remodel of the LMU gym, but many female students still feel uncomfortable in the male-dominated space to what it is currently. “We are dealing with toxic masculinity, and I don’t know what to do about it.” said Kiser.
This essentially discourages numerous women from utilizing the free space included in tuition.
Anna Hellickson, a junior communications major, is a consistent LMU gym goer and has had countless of uncomfortable experiences with the older community members who have access to Burns.
Hellickson recalled a situation when she was doing hip thrusts and an older man came up to her and began speaking about “girls in her generation” in a sexual manner. Hellickson tried to ignore the older man as he asked her “Why would [she] want to make that ass of [hers] any bigger than it already is?”” The older man later asked her to demonstrate the exercise while he watched. “I was disgusted and appalled that that could come out of a man’s mouth when talking to a woman, let alone someone around forty years younger than him,” Hellickson said.
“We take these allegations seriously,” said Michelle Kiser, “we have no problem revoking memberships, especially from [outside] community members. [Membership] is a privilege, not a right.”
