A Mumsnet post about the gym’s new policy has sparked outrage (Picture: Getty Images)
When a small Lancashire gym sent out a text to its female members, it sparked uproar.
It stated that unless you were a woman aged 12 to 24, you wouldn’t be welcome in the gym throughout the week during the hours of 4pm to 7pm.
To make matters worse, it becomes a male-only gym after 7pm, meaning women aged 25 and over are effectively banned on weeknights.
So far, reports have hinged on a Mumsnet post that didn’t name the gym, but after some sleuthing, Metro found out the gym in question is Bodies in Motion in Brierfield, Pendle.
The gym sent a text message about the new age limit to customers, claiming it was designed to ‘better cater to our younger female members who require a dedicated, comfortable space during peak after-school and early evening hours.’
A disgruntled woman took to Mumsnet to share a screenshot of the text and said she’d be cancelling her membership, as she would no longer be able to attend the gym in the hours that work for her.
She wrote: ‘This is ridiculous, right?’ And the internet seemed to seemed to agree.
‘I suspect there is some insufferable person in charge who wants a young, hip and happening vibe, so isn’t bothered about losing boring old middle-aged women,’ said one.
Part of the text sent to members of Bodies in Motion gym (Picture: Mumsnet/ @Whenlifegivesyouoranges)
Metro contacted the business for a statement but an official spokesperson is yet to reply. But we did manage to speak to individual employees on the phone, who confirmed they were aware of the new age restrictions and the details set out on Mumsnet are correct.
The employees claimed the company hadn’t explicitly told them why this change had been implemented, although they suggested you could still enter during your chosen hours if your pass worked.
There seems to be some confusion about how strictly it will be enforced, and whether members will be asked to show age-verifying ID upon entry.
One employee said the new policy is ‘only for really old women above 50’, but didn’t know the manager’s motives.
The gym’s website claims it believes ‘everyone – regardless of background or circumstance deserves the opportunity to thrive.’
Yet the decision to ban older women from a female-only space feels like yet another example of how women’s rights and worth plummets when we no longer look youthful and ‘attractive’.
Why work out anyway if we’re past the infamous Leonardo Di Caprio cut off for desirability?
Dr Ruth Hackett, a Kings College London lecturer in health psychology with a particular interest in discrimination, tells Metro the gym’s actions are acting as a ‘barrier’ for older women to access healthy habits.
‘It seems counterproductive to exclude women over 25 during peak hours from the gym when they should be safe spaces for women of all ages,’ Dr Hackett says.
Personal trainer working with midlife women, Niki Wood, branded the ban ‘dreadful’, telling Metro: ‘There are already so many barriers to women exercising – pregnancy, menstrual issues, perimenopause, childcare – so adding a time restriction to exercise hours completely defeats the objective.
‘It’s tone deaf to the life responsibilities of women.’
Age restrictions send the message that the more you age, the less you matter (Picture: Getty Images)
Niki adds the fitness industry already lacks visual representation of older women. ‘Most fitness influencers are white, thin, muscled with big boobs and a bum – this suggests fitness culture is based around a particular image of beauty,’ she adds.
‘Add this to the pre-existing gendered ageism and it means many older women lack confidence and feel unwelcome in fitness spaces.’
Dr Hackett agrees discrimination against older women is very common and emphasises the need for access to safe spaces, away from the ‘threat of sexism’.
‘My research with more than 3000 women aged 52 and over shows one in 10 women are treated with less respect, receive poorer service, and are threatened or harassed,’ Dr Hackett explains.
Her research suggests women subjected to this treatment ultimately had poorer mental health, were more likely to be depressed and lonely, and also had a poorer quality of life.
The doctor explains that this exclusion from a safe single sex space will ‘exacerbate’ the already negative mental health implications of sexism, because it reinforces the social construct that older women are less than.
Fitness coach Niki adds: ‘Women have to struggle to maintain self-worth as we age, as the message given by the media and society is that a woman’s value is based around youth and beauty – this ban contributes to that message.’
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