Jodie used to feel unsafe working out These gyms want to change that
Jodie Nagyivan used to feel unsafe at the gym. The Aboriginal trans woman, from Gunai Kurnai nation, says it wasnât unusual for her to experience harassment, with other gym-goers being deliberately intimidating, or gendered microaggressions from trainers who gave her male-centric exercises.
Jodie Nagyiván now trains at queer and trans-friendly gym called Non Gendered Fitness, in Melbourneâs Ringwood.Credit:Justin McManus
Nagyivan, 28, says she would openly state her fitness goals, her areas of concern for gaining and losing mass, and her desire to look feminine â" and yet she was constantly given fitness routines designed for bulking up.
âI would go there [to the gym] and a lot of my experiences were like, âwell, you clearly look like a guy, so these are the exercises you have to doâ,â she says.
As a result, she tried to evade others: âI would show up at the earliest hours, just to try and avoid everybody.â
Nagyivan now trains at a queer and trans-friendly gym called Non Gendered Fitness, in Melbourneâs Ringwood, and she is thrilled to be back now that lockdown has ended. Itâs one of several new gyms popping up that offer a safe space for trans, gender diverse and queer folk to train.
âWhat we found with people who come to our space â" and thereâs a few others around in Melbourne that are similar â" is that itâs more about how do you want to move, what is helping you feel good,â says Bowie Stover, fitness and strength coach at Non Gendered Fitness.
âGyms tend to have a macho image.â
âJust learning how to move your body in a way that helps you feel stronger and helps you feel better in everyday life.â
Another Melbourne gym that has a similar ethos is Pony Club Gym in Brunswick, which aims to âcreate space for those who typically would struggle to access a usual gym settingâ.
The gymâs owner, Ella Mason, who is in the LGBTQI community, says itâs important for some spaces to be owned by people who have historically sat on the fringes because they come with a more informed understanding.
âI think queer people have always had the experience of having to fit into a heteronormative space, rather than the other way around,â Mason says. âThatâs not to say not all queer spaces are equal, because, you know, peopleâs experience of being queer is different.â
Further to this, one study by Victoria University noted that while there have been extensive social attitude changes to LGBTQI+ Australians in the last decade, sport and exercise still retain âheteronormative attitudesâ which can make queer folk feel isolated or silenced.
âGyms tend to have a macho image, where if youâre not lifting your body weight in iron â" âdo you even lift bro?â â" it can feel intimidating,â says Matt Smith, owner of PRIDE FITNESS in Sydney. âYou feel out of place. It explains the rise in female-only gyms. The same principle applies to queer-specific places.â
âI have to stress, Pride Fitness isnât just for the queer community â" weâre for anyone who is accepting and tolerant, and allies are an important, and fun, part of our mix.â
For Mason, itâs also about continually checking in to make sure the space sheâs providing is safe and inclusive.
âYou donât just become an inclusive safe space and then thatâs it; thatâs continually evolving based on whoâs coming through the door. So, I always have to be very mindful of going, âOK, who still canât have access or who still doesnât feel safe in the space?ââ says Mason.
âBecause people are always going to come in with new experiences.â
Whatâs more, Mason says she has noticed a special exchange of education and understanding between gym members who have different gender identities.
âItâs not forced, itâs not dogmatic. Itâs just this gentle exchange of compensation that happens between two different people that might not hang out in the same space â" and I think thatâs so important.â
For Nagyivan, the emergence of these new spaces means she can train and receive fitness advice from trainers who have greater awareness. And that, she says, âis a breath of fresh airâ.
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