Opinion

ROOKE: Gym Bros Are Not The Problem. It’s Your OnlyFans Page

(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
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Gyms — one of the last true safe havens of masculinity — have a universal message for men: lift weights, get swole, protect your legacy. This message doesn’t exclude women from participating, but their inclusion into men’s spaces creates confusion.

Thanks to the rise of social media and websites like OnlyFans, women increasingly see male-to-female interactions as sexual transactions instead of potential connections. Their views are shaped by the contradictory forces of a barrage of sexual requests affirming that all men disrespect women because they see femininity as something that needs to be conquered sexually while at the same time reveling in the attention.

In our new social paradigm, men should avoid approaching women at the gym. It’s not because it’s wrong, but because women have no appreciation for the courage it took to even approach them (especially since society treats men like rape-thirsty monsters). But this innocent act becomes great social media fodder as another example of female victimhood.

A social media model known online as Jessica49 received viral attention for uploading a video claiming to show proof a man at her gym sexually harassed her.

“This guy kept making me extremely uncomfortable at the gym… this is why I’ll end up crying on stream bc I feel so grossed out at times with the amount of sexualization I experience. Hopefully this spreads awareness for girls who experience this type of treatment at the gym,” she tweeted along with the video.

Jessica49 recorded herself muttering several iterations of “feral” under her breath as the man glanced in her direction before appearing to wonder if she needed help placing a heavy weight at the end of her bar. She said on Twitter that she doesn’t trust random strangers, is “extremely antisocial,” and “being hit on is never a compliment to [her].”

“I don’t like to be approached I haven’t dated for a year because I despise being sexualized,” she tweeted. “It happens anyway and I get frustrated. It’s normal for girls to feel this way because it happens OFTEN”

So, when a fit male comes to help a female struggling to lift a heavy weight at the gym, that woman should automatically think, “this guy is coming to rape me.” Men are, of course, incapable of innocent interactions. Their sex only knows how to perpetuate the patriarchy by dominating women. These poor, mistreated women simply go to the gym to live-stream their workouts to men online. The idea that men should be allowed to witness the workout in-person is creepy.

Getting mad at men for noticing you at the gym (while wearing a high-cut tank top, skin-tight leggings, and running a mid-level porn account) is an extreme way of saying toxic femininity warped your brain. She’s perfectly happy being sexualized for money, but a man better not find her sexually attractive for free.

Society will coddle her with affirmation that her OnlyFans is not a contradiction. The obvious thirst trap she built to create her false victimhood feeds the “girl boss” energy she needs to take down the patriarchy. Her OnlyFans allows her to dominate men sexually — the same way she thinks men want to control her.

She’ll be shocked to find out that many women work out at co-ed gyms with no issues. Most men are just trying to get through a workout without accidentally looking the wrong way and getting banned from the gym for life. A small percentage of men at gyms are creeps looking to sexualize women. Owning the patriarchy comes at the expense of all normal women who are just hoping to lift weights in peace or even maybe find a husband.

It’s easy to tell the difference between the two if you don’t view all men as predators. Treating the opposite sex like they are all potential rapists (or too dumb to know a con) will leave women alone with all the “freedom” they need to sell themselves. For some reason, we’ve allowed the false notion that it’s more important that women feel a false sense of empowerment rather than safe around men.

In truth, these women don’t want to be ignored by men, or they’d enjoy using the same exact equipment at their local women’s only gym — free from the prying eyes of the patriarchy. They need to go to the gym where they know the men will stare. Because when men are unable to ignore the scantily clad woman using her obnoxious tripod to film herself struggling to lift weights, it’s the perfect opportunity to assume victim status.