A recent editorial written by London gym goer Peter Lloyd, and published in the Daily Mail newspaper, has caused waves of confusion across Twitter.
Lloyd argues that women-only hours at his local gym in Kentish Town discriminate against men both economically and culturally.
Logically, the north Londoner argues that he's paying for 442 hours a year that he's not allowed to use.
However, as US-blog Jezebel points out: "Peter Lloyd doesn't even care about the pocket change he's going to make off this gym. It's the principle of the thing."
In the Daily Mail, Lloyd writes: "I’m suing the gym for gender bias. Not simply because their policy is unfair, but because it pathologizes masculinity while simultaneously repressing it."
The Kentish Town Sports Centre website states that 'Women Only' sessions run in the Fitness Centre on Thursdays from 6pm to 7:30 pm.
According to HuffPost UK readers, the women-only sessions used to be run from 6pm-10pm, but have been reduced in length this year.
Interestingly, opinions on social media appear to be very divided Lloyd's actions, depending on whether the matter is perceived as an issue of negative gender bias, or unfair business practice.
Find out how people are reacting to Lloyd's stand..
According to the Daily Mail, in his initial complaint to the general manager, LLoyd asked the gym to offer one of these three alternatives
- A) maintain a women’s hour but introduce a men's alternative for fairness
- B) keep women’s hour (and only women’s hour) but annually charge men less
- C) scrap single-gender sessions altogether
A blog in AdWeek points out that while his column is generating praise from some equal rights campaigners, the tenor of his writing is far from diplomatic.
"The aggressiveness of his tone could also be seen as an argument in favor of keeping guys out of the gym on occasion.
Adding finally: "Will he be part of the solution or part of the problem?"
Update: This story was updated on 25/4/2013 to correct information about the introduction of women-only sessions.