Exercising and one's freedom of religion
03/02/08
Exercising and one's freedom of religion
I've always been a bit impatient with some women's attitude that "oh, my god, a guy might see me sweaty. I can't possibly exercise in front of guys, it makes me too self conscience." My response would typically be - get over yourself. You are there to exercise, not have a fashion show. And if some thug bugs you - talk to the staff and have his ass tossed. Despite my opinion, there are female only gyms (think Curves) and they have their nitch and obviously make money. Fine, each to their own. Personally, I'm just not sure Curves would challenge me enough to keep me going.
But now there is a new wrinkle in the "I don't want men seeing exercise" quandary - its called Islam. Harvard is trying an experiment - they have restricted hours at one of their gyms to women only. Following link:
http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2008/02/25/News/To.Accommodate.Muslim.Students.Harvard.Tries.WomenOnly.Gym.Hours-3232133.shtml
A Harvard Islamic Society's Islamic Knowledge Committee officer, Ola Aljawhary, a junior, states: "We live together in one community, it only makes sense for everyone to compromise slightly in order for everyone to live happily," she said. "This matter is simple: Can't we just display basic decency and show tolerance and inclusion for people not a part of the mainstream majority?"
Sorry, hon, I don't agree. This is patently unfair to men that live close to this gym. Furthermore, where will it end? Will the Moslem men feel it is an infringement on their beliefs to be working out with women and insist on equal time? I'm sure the craziness has not reached the apex yet.
The constitution allows for freedom to worship as each sees fit - it was designed to keep the government from forcing people from following a specific religion. The intention was not to allow one religion to force its beliefs and restrictions down other peoples' throats. Everyone that comes to this country has a clue what our culture is. If you don't like our culture, don't come here. Don't expect us to change for you. And don't expect everyone to think its wonderful that you choose to cover yourself from head to toe in public.
Comments, Pingbacks:
First - there's no reason to tolerate someone who is demanding the exclusion of other people. Most especially when those other people aren't infringing on anyone's freedoms.
Second - you don't have a "right" to use the gym. And the rest of the world doesn't have to support you if you decide that there's something not to your liking.
Third - suck it up bitch. Yes this is the US, and if you don't like using the coed gym then nothing is fucking stopping you from establishing your own.
Either integrate like everyone else has or move to someplace where your ideals are shared.
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03/03/08 @ 00:03 It's against most of my principles to allow that kind of statement to stand unchallenged from either of you.
I mean, that's nothing more than prejudice, IMO. Ok, maybe the school's solution isn't the best. But that doesn't mean that we should demand the people affected suck it up, or move. That's pure bullshit.
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03/03/08 @ 07:59 In this case I agree, the unity of the nation does come first over religious morays that infringe on the rights of others... in this case for men not to be excluded from their gym.
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03/03/08 @ 10:37 But there isn't the same validity behind complaining about this. They want to cover themselves around men. Ok, it's archaic in my opinion, but it's a belief, and it's not difficult to accommodate. This isn't the best implementation IMO. Separate locations, isolated sections or simply extra after hours dedicated to women only. That way, the current patrons are not affected by the change.
It's simple to do this, and I really don't see the outrage at this. It's the equivalent of being upset about giving Muslims areas to do daily prayers.
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03/03/08 @ 12:35 If there's a women's only time, should there be a men's only time?
Suddenly a simple situation of showing up at the gym when it's open becomes more complicated - "but is it open for me"? What about other groups? What if I'm a pagan and my religion recommends I workout in the nude? Why exclude me? Once you start making distinctions and exclusions where do you stop?
In addition its more effort to sustain: asking gym employees to become monitors, and turn away non-included people during restricted hours seems like a burden.
Segregation has a cost. Offending someones chosen sensibilities doesn't seem worth the price... to me.
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03/03/08 @ 12:52 Equality for men can be resolved too, particularly if they considered another method of granting access to Muslim women (as I mentioned above)
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03/03/08 @ 15:22 Exactly how many "special interests" are an institution expected to make accommodations for? One person made a very good point - they can exercise at home. If there is such a small segment, perhaps they should start a lending library for exercise stuff or, if the gym is large enough, give them a small portion of the gym and let then decide what they need.
Another good point - what about transsexual or transgender people? Should "she" be allowed in, just because he looks like a she. And what about a woman that dresses and identifies as a man? Does biology or psychology decide?
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03/03/08 @ 18:42 If the hours chosen are inconvenient for a large portion of users, rescheduling is acceptable (and to be honest, the hours should be during normal lulls, or in some extended hour fashion IMO).
As for how many 'special interests' should be accommodated, I answered that already. When a sizable portion of the population has a valid and reasonable request for accommodation, it's in the best interests of the school to try to find a solution.
Finally, female would probably be best defined as having female genitalia. But really that point doesn't really bring up anything that a normal gym during normal operations doesn't deal with in regards to locker rooms.
As I said, this solution isn't perfect IMO. But no solution, or a demand that someone 'get out' if they don't like it, is worse.
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03/03/08 @ 21:15 Leave a comment:
Odessa
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