A tale of two women-only workout rooms

Harvard University is coming under fire for creating women-only hours at one of its gyms, at the request of Muslim students.

Since Jan. 28, the Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center has been open only to women from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays.

The change was prompted by a request from the Harvard College Women’s Center, which was approached by six female Muslim students, said Robert Mitchell, communications director of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

“It was done for religious purposes, but it’s not closed to other women who may want to participate,” he said.

Ola Aljawhary, a student and a member of the Harvard Islamic Society, said the women-only gym is needed.

“These hours are necessary because there is a segment of the Harvard female population that is not found in gyms, not because they don’t want to work out, but because for them working out in a co-ed gym is uncomfortable, awkward or problematic in some way,” she told Boston University’s Daily Free Press.

Now, you can probably make a case that I’m comparing apples and oranges here, but I find it interesting that the Jewish community has similar problems, and yet seems to manage to find ways to handle them in the private community.

Skin-tight tank tops and spandex bike shorts have never been standard workout attire at the heavily Orthodox Bernard Horwich Jewish Community Center in West Rogers Park.

[…] Nonetheless, for religious reasons some people felt uncomfortable exercising at the center — until it became one of the few Jewish community centers in the country to open separate workout facilities for men and women.

The new workout areas were designed to address many members’ desire for modesty, a trait the Orthodox have traditionally valued highly.

Some particularly observant Orthodox do not so much as shake hands with someone of the opposite sex. And married women typically cover their hair and wear skirts with hems that fall below the knee.

The apparel issue is one reason that fewer women than men exercised at the center when its workout facility was co-ed. Even though certain hours were set aside for women or men only, there was always the possibility that someone of the opposite gender would walk past the workout room and glance in.

“So many wouldn’t come,” said fitness director Myra Orlinsky. “There wasn’t the comfort level. We had stopped reaching the community.”

Now, she said, “we are seeing a spike in membership,” with about 75 new people signing up for trial memberships during the facilities’ grand opening on Sunday.

I got the biggest kick out of this graf:

Said Minkow: “All of a sudden we’ve got rabbis here, studying on the treadmills.”

Now that would be fun to see. Oh. Wait. I wouldn’t be able to see it. Bummer.