University Of Southern California Newspaper: Gyms Perpetuate ‘Racism and Misogyny’
Darian Douraghy
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Campus craziness in the university system is showing no signs of slowing down — just ask Tucker Carlson!
While largely relevant, even a perusing of Tucker Carlson’s various reports on insanity in our upper education system will not be necessary to see such silliness. All one has to do is pop open a copy of the Daily Trojan, which for those not in the know is the University of Southern California’s (USC) largely student-led newspaper.
“The gym feeds into — and perpetuates — a system of patriarchy and misogyny,” wrote a student writer in a harrowingly intellectual piece titled “Modern gyms create a culture of exclusion.”
How is the gym sexist, and maybe even racist too, you may ask? Luckily our friend at the Daily Trojan was able to explain:
Thus, the gym feeds into — and perpetuates — a system of patriarchy and misogyny. We operate with the goal of blending into a culture that is created by and for men. We exist in a hierarchy that centers overt physical strength over well-being and assimilating into a masculinized culture becomes the ultimate goal. When asked the question “How much do you lift?” I wonder, “Does it matter? I am moving my body; isn’t that what counts?” I come for the endorphins and my own well-being, not for the muscle mass.
Also importantly covered was the hostility felt when confronted by the “ruggedness” of the gym, especially when a gym bro asks the writer how many more sets he has, to which he replies that he has no understanding of what a “set” during a workout even is.
There is a ruggedness in the gym that makes me want to temporarily evade my femininity to blend in. Perhaps it is the glance of Mr. Muscle Man when he takes a walk from his machine to scan the room smugly, or the way we learn to claim our machines before we’re even ready for them; like frantic dogs peeing every where, we mark our territory. Maybe it’s those times when I am asked how many sets I have left, and I anxiously cut my workout short because I don’t know what a “set” is, and I don’t like being perceived.
Our gym-going friend luckily had some suggestions for USC to take in order to provide a better experience for him and others, including that they should “put some money into a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative” that will assist in helping students “expand [their] definition of effective exercising to dismantle the idea that there is any one superior form of moving your body.”
The writer concluded his piece by invoking literature derived from what he describes as “queer theory” before labeling himself as “a queer non-binary person of color” who happens to publicly display themselves as a “cis-presenting man.”
He appears to be a truly confident individual too; the gym-goer wrapped up the article with the following statement:
“I will continue my counter-publicity as I prance into the Lyon Center wearing all pink, channeling Doja Cat and empowering myself to exist in a place where I feel out of place.”
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