A gym intended solely for women has found itself at the center of some controversy after a recent TikTok video went viral.
Blush Fitness , in Overland Park, Kansas, offers women — and only women — a space to work out.
While many applaud the existence of this kind of space, there are plenty of people who believe it constitutes segregation.
It all started with a TikTok video.
TikToker Heather Huesman made a short video about Blush Fitness, raving about its various features.
While the tone of Huesman’s video was completely positive and enthusiastic, the discourse soured after it went viral. To date, the video has been viewed more than six million times.
How does it differ from a normal gym?
Huesman notes that the windows are obscured to offer a sense of privacy, the washrooms have women’s hygiene products, and there’s even a sign on the door to give women an idea of when male staffers might be present.
Huesman thinks the gym is an awesome idea.
Indeed, many commenters pointed out that they feel leered at when they go to a regular gym, while others have stories of even greater trauma.
A safe space like this seems like a great idea for women who’d prefer not to work out with men, and many commenters agreed.
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It encouraged a thoughtful and nuanced debate.
Hah, no, I’m just kidding. Virtually no commenters saw both sides. There were two clearly delineated sides here, and practically everyone was firmly on one or the other.
Not all commenters were on board.
The notion of this kind of gym being ‘segregation’ was a constant theme throughout the comments section, although — as pointed out here — this kind of gender-based ‘segregation’ is already commonplace in public spaces like washrooms.
Some comments went straight to sexism.
While the ‘segregation’ comments largely devolved into bad-faith arguments, some comments decided to skip any pretense of an argument and just make fun of women for the notion that they’re physically weaker than men.
Are men creeps?
While creeping in gyms is definitely a thing, this isn’t so much an anti-creeping measure as a women-feeling-safe measure.
Fragile masculinity was in full effect.
Comments like this seem to operate on the mystifying assumption that women are never involved in construction, and furthermore, that they should be forced to allow men into their spaces as a direct consequence.
.
There were clowns aplenty in the thread, including this bold take that offering women a safe space to work out is akin to creating a gym for white people only.
A lot of women would probably love a gym like this.
Everyone who works out would probably love a specialized gym that’s tailored to their needs, and it seems like this is exactly that.
Ultimately, it’s a positive story.
The comment section turned into a bit of a toxic cesspit of triggered men, but if you comb through it, there’s plenty of positivity for the concept of a women-only gym.
There are also some good points about how many spaces in society are implicitly or even explicitly designed for men.
What do you think?
Now, this is a contentious story, so we’d like to ask that everyone play nice. After all, we all have the right to our opinion.
That said, what do you think? Is this gym a positive, private space for women, or is it on par with history’s worst examples of segregation?
Let us know in the comments.
