Good news. The ladies only classes have stopped at my leisure centre.

typo , I have "never"

Excuse my ignorance , but what do you have a coat for ?

I have heard or seen that .

too right petallus about men dominating mixed conversation.

Hi shysal

My kit is washed every other class but my daughters have said it might be good to get some different colour kit.
I got 3 lots the same colour as it was reduced at the time.
Oddly I have a coat and a lady noticed I has it when she joined in 2008 as she has the same colour. I had not had it long at that point and she thinks hers is about the same age. I do have 2 other coats.
It is washed but I think it is time they are replaced when I next go past the shop.
She has said she will replace hers in the near future.
They are put on the floor so I do not think it is a serious issue.

Frank

reprimand you Frank? That's a bit strong.

[being put off my lunch] emoticon, shysal!!

Frank, I hope you wear decent shorts and underwear. My experience of males in classes has been of gaping legs of shorts during floor exercises and even 'bits' flopping out - yuk! I am generalising here, but I also found that a large percentage of the men were dangerously unable to keep in time to the music and smelled of unwashed kit! I am sure this does not apply to you Frank.

[tso]

"ladies" is nicer.

This discussion is getting very peculiar (this is the first time I've seen it) but what stands out for me is one of my pet hates - the assumption that "ladies" is the female equivalent of "men". NO!!!. Ladies and gentlemen, men and women. To call women "ladies" when you are comparing them to "men" sounds to me patronising, as if they are not real people but rather decorative little things (providing they have their make-up in place) not fit to join in proper pursuits.

As for women-only or men-only classes, it seems to me that if there is a demand for either, go for it, but if not, why should any business, including a council-run leisure centre, waste money these days?

Could you manage a beginners' class of spinning?

Or weights?

I think of aerobic classes being, usually, for younger women, either to keep themselves trim or to lose weight. I think they would mostly be happier if no men were present. Perhaps the women in the class you attend, Frank, were being kind to an obviously harmless old bloke. (ie patronising?)

Or perhaps you are just cuddly and totally un-threatening.

I recomend pilates if you can make it. Have a look around I am sure there will be loads of classes on different days and they will all be very different

Hi jo7.

You said ''I think men who insist on joining an aerobics class which is obviously aimed at women are being insensitive and selfish''.
I have spoken to several women who said they wish their husbands would come.
No we do not wear leotards. We generally wear a sports shirt and shorts.

May I ask why did those women reprimand me for not going to the Sunday class for about 4 weeks if they did not want me there.
Oddly enough a woman did say a few weeks ago yoga and possibly pilates might suit me but I can not make the time these are on at the moment.

Frank

A couple of years ago when DD2 was working on The Gods Weep for RSC she was gobsmacked one day to find that only she and Jeremy Irons had turned up for the daily cast yoga session (but given the thought of self in lycra, maybe not!

Definitely!

...and they look daft in leotards...

I think men who insist on joining an aerobics class which is obviously aimed at women are being insensitive and selfish.

Yes, and there has been similar research done on talking. Men say women do all the talking but findings are that men talk as much or more.

And don't even get me started on housework! Too late, I've started. I'm sure we've all read that men's perception is that they do half the housework but analysis shows they do much less than their partners.

DH is awful on both these counts.

petallus i am sure you are right. It starts in childhood. Some interesting research was done in primary schools though I cannot now remember by whom. The pupils were asked whether teachers paid more attention to the boys or the girls. The boys said that the girls got the most attention and the girls said the boys. In fact, cameras had been recording and the boys got two and half times more of the teacher's time on average than the girls.

Or affect, not sure, pedants take your pick.

IMO men have a much stronger sense of entitlement than women do. If they want something they go for it without too much consideration of how this might effect others.

Yes, a generalisation, but true of so many men.

I meant to add:
When we asked for women only sessions we were told (by the then male manager) that this would be unfair to the men!!!! & and but great for Frank!

HunterF is the dog in the manger. It never ate hay, but by lying on the hay it prevented anyone else eating it - it was his right to sleep wherever he liked.