Good news. The ladies only classes have stopped at my leisure centre.

Thanks for adding that susieb755 . Unfortunately I think HunterF is in denial about the need for any form of women-only amenities as long as he and his pals are OK.

i work in that much maligned profession 'whisper equalities ' - we have sometimes run women only events , and indeed I belong to a women's network, it is not just religious and cultural backgrounds that necessitate female only sessions, but sadly due to Domestic Violence, we have had to run sessions for women from the refuge - really , you would be astonished at the lengths some abusive partners go to to track people down ( one even had his sister pose as a victim to get access to the refuge...)

I am often asked when I will run men only events, and always say that I'd love too, but as soon as I ask the gentleman if what he would like to do to help, ie join a committee etc, they seem to lose interest

But then Ariadne there are people who are quite extraordinarily elderly in their views and, indeed, in other aspects of their lives in their thirties. You can even encounter little boys who talk as if they were middle-aged men. Girls and young women, on the other hand, do the "being older than their years" in a completely different sort of way.

Does anybody else remember the "Young Fogeys" of what, the 70's?? They affected the mannerisms and attitudes of their grandfathers. Are you a "young getting on a bit fogey" Frank?

Is it all really not somewhat provocative? The OP is relatively young to express such "old" views.

Frank claims to be 63 - an "old boy"?
What does that make many of us??

Ahh, love him. There's no boy like an old boy.

????

Frank, you're priceless!

Takes more than that to shock a Gran.
Try harder?

Hi

Well you may be shocked but a man asked at the reception if bums and tums was for women and the cashier said it is just as much for men as for women and another woman from the class assured him that was the case.
As it happened 2 other men were there when we got to the room. They tend to move from class to class as they work at the hospital.
2 of the women just told him to come in and have some fun.
He did stay and one of the women told him he did very well for a first time. I could not confirm this as I could not see him most of the time.
He said he will be back next week and will come again on Thursday.

Frank

Mmmm Lilygran! You could be right.

Interesting observation Lilygran -[spoon] emoticon?

In my opinion, the OP was intended provocatively. And it worked.

hummingbird, thank you for a well-considered post. I agree with you that there is nothing to be gained by arguing about this issue any longer.

Ok jess. I will report it. But you know as well as I do that they will do nothing. Because the website is all. and sod who gets hurt

I'm not surprised soop.

In my opinion, each of us has the right to our personal point of view, including Frank. I think that so much of what I take offence (or not) at depends upon the context, and upon the intention behind it. and really, does anyone here truly believe that Frank is trying to demean or insult anyone? If someone were to insultingly call me a 'laydee', I'd be incensed, but really, fighting with Frank is like trying to pin jelly to the wall - a frustrating waste of time! I like to think of myself as as 'strident feminist' (see How to be a Woman, Caitlin Moran), but cannot get worked up about the views of a somehat old-fashioned man, who as far as I can see, means no harm - and whose mind no amount of reasoned argument will change!

Night night, sleep tight...

Excuse me. If anyone thinks that a post transgresses the GN rules the thing to do is to report it.

To those who like to be described as ladies; that's fine if you prefer it, but what I object to is the use of the word as an equivalent to "men" when it should be "gentlemen". We are real people too, sometimes polite or in the loo (or both), when "ladies" would be appropriate, and sometimes just being people of the adult female sort, ie "women".

I am surprised that there are not more members who feel that Frank deserves an apology? I feel that absent's comment was uncalled for AND rude.

Well we have strayed a long way from the original post's assertion that henceforth women who wish to continue to have access to single sex classes must be prepared to go to the local authority gym at 11pm ( assuming any local authority employees were prepared to work at that hour) or find a private gym at greater expense, I imagine the local authority gym was not free . So if you are Muslim,Orthodox Jewish, Sikh,self-conscious, uncomfortable with men in baggy shorts getting too close, or unhappy about being out on the non-existent buses at midnight - tough
Fine - we know where we are now.
The reference may have been to ladies, but I am not hearing the words of a gentleman

anno

Each to her or his own as far as "ladies" (not the loos) is concerned, I think?

"Ladies" reminds me of nothing more than a public convenience.