Gym’s ‘Women Only’ Hours Inspires Lawsuit, ‘Sexism’ Allegations

London – One man is suing his gym over the 442 hours a year he’s not allowed to use it thanks to a “sexist” women-only policy put in place because “women feel even more self-conscious when taking part in sport and physical activity when men are present,” according to an email sent to him.

Peter Lloyd wrote a lengthy op-ed for The Daily Mail in which he explains why he is suing the Kentish Town Sports Centre, a fitness gym he is a member of.

“When I became a member of my local gym, it was to exercise my body – not my human rights,” he explains.

The gym recently put a “women only” policy into place for certain hours of operation, where, as you’ve likely guessed, only women are allowed into the facility to work out. Lloyd formally complained to the manager several weeks ago, asking for a change in the policy, or one of three alternatives:

“A) maintain a women’s hour but introduce a men’s alternative for fairness, B) keep women’s hour (and only women’s hour) but annually charge men less, or C) scrap single-gender sessions altogether.”

They turned him down, citing a report which said that “a significant proportion of women (26 per cent) ‘hate the way they look when they exercise‘,” so getting rid of men seemed to be a reasonable alternative to losing customers.

Lloyd interpreted his response as a “group of agenda-driven feminists say a minority of women ‘feel’ bad about their bodies. And because heterosexual men are naturally attracted to women, their very existence makes it worse, so they should be banned.”

Lloyd says that he’s not looking to get rich with his lawsuit. All he really wants is the rule to change or “at best” a 10 percent refund of his membership fee.

He has some support, as well. Erin Pizzey, founder of a domestic violence shelter, reportedly told Lloyd, “This discrimination has no place in modern society.”

What do you think? Is the gym’s “women only” hours policy unfair to male members? Is it really to prevent males from gawking at females working out, or is it to help women feel more comfortable at the gym? Should David Lloyd win his lawsuit? You can read his entire op-ed here.

[Image via: Khakimullin Aleksandr, Shutterstock.com]