Title Nine, Belarusian style

There is a famous law in the United States, commonly known as Title Nine, which promotes equal opportunity in sports between men and women, boys and girls. I thought about that law today because I ran into a little surprise at the Hall of Sport.

A couple of weeks ago I discovered an aerobics class that I liked on Friday afternoons. While most aerobics classes are scheduled and administered as academic subjects, the Friday afternoon class is just a bunch of teachers who gather to work out together. Since the exercise bikes at my university are all too small for me and the treadmills and elliptical trainers bore me, I got pretty excited about aerobics.

The first time I joined the group, I got off the treadmill and gestured to the teacher to see if she'd mind if I joined her students. She assented and I had a great workout. Today I asked the teacher before the class if it was OK for me to work out without socks on. (Nobody wears shoes, and I'd rather be barefoot than sock-foot.) She said OK, but directed me to the back corner. I figured that she sent me far away because I would have bare feet.

As I turned away, however, she pointed out that this was a women's group. I assured her that I really didn't mind and that their workout was certainly difficult enough to satisfy me. She added that there were also classes for men and that I would be welcome in them. I thought about taking her brush-off and looking for one of these manly classes, but since I had no idea where to find them I stayed for the class that was about to begin.

Twenty minutes later, back in my far corner, I saw the teacher look pointedly at me and then up at the balcony over my head. I looked over my shoulder and saw the head of the athletic department looking at me with a puzzled expression on his face. Later, the teacher left the front of the room while we all worked out to the video she had running. I saw that she was talking to that head guy, but nobody said anything to me so I didn't do anything right away.

After class, I thanked the teacher and asked her if it was any kind of a problem to have me in the class. She said that some of the women were (or, I presume, might be) uncomfortable about having a man in the room. I asked her, then, where I could find any of those classes for men. Well, she admitted, there really aren't any.

In the end, I was de-invited from that particular aerobics group and even from using the treadmills in the room while that group is in session. She originally began to discourage me from using the aerobic equipment while there was any group in session, but since there is almost always a group in session she was kind enough to allow me in the room when students are present.

I think the guys busy themselves with soccer and other games, but mostly they seem to like bench presses. I'll write about that at another time.