Women in Space

I know: it seems like Dr. Villanelle should be writing this post. However, I speak not of science fiction space for this particular post, but rather, the vast 3-dimensional realm we material beings inhabit.

Women are socialized to take up as little space as possible, whereas men are socialized to take up as much space as possible. When occupying the same space, such as on a sidewalk, women are expected, perhaps unconsciously, to defer to men. If you're a woman (cis-gendered or otherwise), try this experiment: when walking down a shared space, and a man or group of men is heading toward you, don't get out of their way. Nine out of ten times you will enjoy a shoulder slammed into your shoulder, followed by a dirty look. I and many of my friends have tried this, and as much as the more chivalric (snort) sex would have you believe, they are not going to demur to your lady-like presence. Exhibit B: Mansitting

This male ownership of space has been haunting me at the gym lately. I tend to go to the gym later at night when it's less crowded. The cardio equipment is separated into two rooms: one with two rows of treadmills--10 in each row, and another room with elliptical machines--8 in each row. I was using an elliptical machine a few weeks ago, and was the only one using one until a middle-aged man came up and, despite the 14 other machines available, hopped up next to me and started gawking over at the readout on my machine, so he could see, I don't know, if he was going faster, or at a higher crossramp or whatever. I was annoyed, and glared at him, and finally had to drape a towel over my panel so he'd stop staring over. A few minutes later, another younger man showed up, chose the machine on the other side of me, and tried to gawk over at my panel, only to be thwarted by my towel. This sort of thing has continued to happen every time I've gone to the gym since to use the cardio equipment.

GO THE FUCK AWAY.

Seriously! I hear my male friends joke all the time about leaving a space between urinals, or not sitting next to each other at the movies (wouldn't want someone to think you were gay, right?) so why the hell is it okay to not only crowd my space, but also to assess my workout? I wanted to deck a guy who came over when I was using some weight-lifting equipment, and told me "not to be too macho about it." Thanks for your uninvited and uninformed feedback, sir--you should really be a personal trainer, no, really.

So here's the part where I say that not all men are alike, and of course there are men who respect women's space. If you could kindly inform your "bro's" about this, however, I know I'd be grateful. (I give a nod to Eric, the admin of the above posted facebook group).

However, I'm so weary of the solution to this problem being "separate space for women". Segregation is never a good answer, though I've found myself drawn to the "women's section" of my gym, which of course has infinitely shoddier equipment. Separate but equal is bullshit. How about plain ol equality instead?