The Poor Oppressed Male

One of the weirdest stories of recent days is the tale of the New York bodybuilder kicked out of the gym for grunting as he lifted weights. Far more interesting though is the response of men on the internet to this story. First, thanks to my friend Katie for researching this stuff. I never would have found it on my own. And boy would I have missed out.

From the hilariously named website, Men's Activism.org, comes these comments, among others:

"WELL THERE WE HAVE IT -- MALE BEHAVIOR MUST BE RIDICULED AND OUTLAWED -- SO THAT WOMEN AREN'T FEELING INTIMIDATED. WHY NOT JUST CASTRATE THE LOT OF US AND GET IT OVER WITH ALREADY..."

"There should put a "no fairies" sign in the gym, to keep out people who are easily intimidated."

"Men need to sue the gym for discrimination, not boycott."

"Must be run by lesbians! What's next? I know, men grunting while making love will be considered abusive!"

And from this YouTube comment thread where you can watch a local news story about the matter comes comments like this:

"LMAO!!! Fuck that gym. That ladies a fat bitch. Makes me want to get a day pass there, and yell, and throw weights around, just to make them mad."

"there is only one locker room at Planet Fitness: "Whinyass Bitches"

Now I don't particularly care about the merits of the story. I've always thought bodybuilders were weird, but it does seem like an odd rule for a gym to have. What's remarkable is how defensive these men are about this issue. Do men really believe they are under attack from women (rhetorical question--the obvious answer is yes despite the overwhelming preponderance of evidence against them)? Because the female manager enforced this rule, she must a lesbian, a bitch, and anti-male. A lot of men feel their masculinity threatened for reasons that befuddle this writer.

Men just can't do anything anymore! First, rape became a crime! Then, it became illegal to sexual harass women at work! What's next, enforced castration! It's like a freaking Borat scene.

You know, there are other gyms where you can lift. If you really want to look like a muscle-bound freak, the world hardly opposes you.