It’s women’s hours, not a forceful kidney donation

By: Zahra Khozema, blogger at RU Student Life

At this time, there is more pressure then ever to look a certain way for girls. We are perpetually forced to compare ourselves with our peers, the Calvin Klein billboards the size of Mars in Dundas Square, and all the size zeros in the Eaton Centre. If you’re going to tell me boys are also to be fit into a cookie-cut image, I’m not going to argue with you. You’re right. But you cannot deny the fact that there is and continues to be more pressure towards girls to have the ‘perfect’ body. Now, we all have enough brain cells to get us to this level of post secondary education to know that this mentality is false and unachievable.

Nonetheless, being healthy and at the top of your performance is a whole different ball game. Taking care of ourselves is really important, especially with university work, money management, and family stress as the cherry on top of our early life crisis sundae. Just like guys, we need a release channel. And it really makes it difficult for one to try to improve herself in midst of the judging eye. Personally, I go to the gym to get away from guys and whether I dress in a loose shirt for intense cardio or a tighter tank-top for safety reasons in the weight room, I do not want the burn of testosterone overflowing eye balls to follow me across the room.

So, instead of creating petitions to undo these women’s hours at the RAC or whining about them, do something else. Anything really (hint: midterms are around the corner). Get used to it guys, make peace with it, and pop it like a Vicks pill because it’s here to stay. You’ve probably heard a lot of guys say this isn’t a good thing, not because they are against the notion of women working out but they probably justify themselves with the following:

a) “This is my only time I have a break between classes to work out”
b) “But the RAC is closerrrrr”
c) “Can’t check out the fine ladies of RyeHigh”
d) “In denial of the fact that I do check out the fine ladies of RyeHigh”

Alternates to your manly discomforts:

a) Use the MAC (a 20 min walk away from the RAC, 10 min if you’ve just had a coffee)
b) Make the day of the week you really have a schedule conflict your cardio day. This way you are still able to use the machines upstairs.
c) Make it your cheat day!

Misconceptions about women’s hours:

a) “ONLY women can enter the RAC during this time”
False: You can use any other space at the RAC except the weight room or the running track (or the girls washroom but thats just a given, yeah just checking). This, my boys, leaves the machines upstairs, the basketball courts, the racquet sport areas, the ping pong table and the dance studios.
b) “There are barely any girls there anyways, its a waste”
False. 100% false. More and more Ryerson females (including myself) are taking advantage of these hours. Sometimes these morning hours don’t suit us, just like they might not suit your schedule but please believe that they are making a difference. Even if it is slowly, they are.

Reasons why women’s hours are a good thing:

a) Women’s only hours provide a safe environment for women to use the gym facilities. In a society that continues to restrict the way women move through and engage with their world, this means more students can feel part of the community, take care of their bodies and feel good!
b) The shyer female population of Ryerson is taking advantage of what she is already paying for from her tuition. This is equity at work in our beautiful school.
c) It boosts self confidence: This way, when a girl is more comfortable using the machines, she might think about coming in in the co-ed hours as well.
d) We get stronger, so we can defend against the certain Young Street peeps.

You’ve already got 99 problems, please don’t make women’s hours 1.

Background image from #NikonRISE2014 Contest submissions by Ryerson student Omar Saadaldin @o.sd