Chaim 1, yes, in this 2011, people are polite enough to try to demand things in such a way that isn't so abrasive. Men want a thin woman and so they ask for a woman who is healthy. That's exactly my point. Often when these Jewish women are healthy, they are eating the uber healthy foods like almond milk and they are vegetarians and such.
I have never seen another Orthodox girl at the gym. I see muslim girls and plenty of secular/israeli women. Perhaps, they are wearing pants at the gym so I am not spotting them. I just know that I asked on my FB status a couple times for someone to go to the gym with and I've gotten responses from non-Jewish friends. Once, I went by myself and I was walking out and ran into an FFB friend who said she would go with me that she had actively looked for someone to go with before and couldn't find anyone. None of the Jewish girls wanted to go to the gym.
As for the comments that it's the mothers not the guys asking for a size 2, this is hogwash. There was a discussion of this over on Endthemadness at one point. Some guy said something like, "well, Eva Longoria is the most beautiful woman in the world and she's a size 0 so I'm being generous if I'm willing to consider a 2." UGH!!!!
Another thing is that at one point, Marilyn Monroe was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. She was a 12, the same size as I am right now. This is considered the size that most women are. I have actually been as low as a 5 (which is pretty small) and as big as a 16, even within the last five years.
Finally, I MUST address Sigmond Freud"s (male-66) question, "According to Halacha, are we allowed to marry someone we see as unattractive?" Siggy, there is a big difference between finding someone unattractive and requiring someone that you say you are attracted to. People, especially men, find that they are only "attracted" to someone that will make them look good. It is ridiculous when men in their 50's and 60's are deciding they can only be attracted to a woman 20 or more years younger than themselves. They just want to brag and parade around a trophy wife. The obligation to marry is upon the man and a man must marry a woman that will agree to marry him. This is what the gemara says. In the secular world, we see that men will have a chubby girl on the side but not bring her around his friends and family and make her his girlfriend. I"m sorry to break it to you, but this is the standard. Men are attracted to most women, however, many women they are attracted to, they would be embarrassed because their friends would not be jealous of them. To you men I say, grow a freaking backbone!!!!!
Although I'm a bit of a distance, I'd be happy to go to gym with you sometimes. I haven't had luck with finding reliable gym partners. Tried doing half marathon training (walking), but found most people either were already with their own friends or people that just preferred exercising on their own. I do know some women that do the Chai Lifeline marathon fundraisers so there are frum women that do exercise.
ReplyDeleteI do realize the posting for 'healthy' often means skinny, as not all athletic women are super thin. However, there does seem to be some issues with some women working out in anything but women's only gyms. I've heard that some frum folks consider it inappropriate for women to exercise around men even if appropriately attired, so women have far fewer options. This could explain some hesitation of women going to gym if same health nut men (who want the same suppodedly 'heatlhy' lifestyle woman) would look down on the women on the treadmills next them for not being 'frum' enough.
In my neighborhood there is a frum owned gym and a secular women's only chain blocks from each other. I heard at one time the frum owned gym did have a private women's exercise area, but it was not cost effective so the owner got rid of it. The only frum women I hear go to this gym are the 'young grandmothers' not single women. I'd actually prefer the frum gym, even though it costs more, I hear the equipment and environment is nicer. And I'd rather support the small business owner over a chain.
A lot of the non-frum gyms want people in either in exercise pants or shorts. Not skirts, even the ones specifically made for running or skirt over pants. A couple girls I know said they have been turned away at various co-ed chain gyms for trying this. Not that it would matter for treadmill, but for weight machines I could see the trouble. Some weight machines twist one's body in ways that could be problematic wearing a skirt and material from a long skirt could also get caught up too.
Oh, out of state, I had a few successes with exercisefriends.com Didn't work in my area here, but maybe in your neighborhood.
My gym options are Bally's and my college's gym. The women who go to a CUNY school are not frummies. I know there are that exercise, but I think most of them are married young. I think people in their 30's and 40's often still think they can order what they like as if they are at a restaurant and truly the pickings are more slim as the best plates are sold out so to speak.
ReplyDeleteWe must meet up one of these days.