Gyms and Massage question

[cemeterygates.livejournal.com]

1. What gyms are available in the Davis and Porter areas? I am not interested in Healthworks (not a fan of their gender-specific facilities, reverse sexism is sooo fifteen years ago), but I'm otherwise open to any suggestions.

2. I also need somewhere to get a decently priced professional massage in the area. Suggestions?

Thank you!

Comments

[cobweb.livejournal.com]

Even though you aren't interested, I must say that Healthworks is totally amazing. I just rejoined after having been gone for about 6 months. My other gym didn't even compare.

[cemeterygates.livejournal.com]

I hear a lot of good things about it, and I'm really surprised that more women don't have issues with the exclusionism thing. If there was a totally amazing gym locally that only men were allowed to go to, I would be *pissed!*

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

i also <3 healthworks.

as a radical feminist, i don't buy "reverse sexism" just like i don't buy "reverse racism." to exert sexism (or any -ism) you need to have the power to control ... women still don't have any major power to control much in this country.

i also believe in the rights of minority groups to declare blank-only space as a retreat from a discriminatory world.

[catalyst.livejournal.com]

     any judgement about who is being discriminated against and to what degree is always subjective. there is very little place for subjective judgements in public policy, and absolutely none in anything that involves restricting the rights of some segment of the population. any attempt to mandate a right for each person to *feel* the way they want (in the absence of any objective measure of harm) about every aspect of their world is circular, morally vacuous, and ludicrously unenforceable.

     as healthworks is not a public institution, it has a right to refuse service to anyone for whatever reason they wish. but this is morally indistinguishable from keeping black folks out of country clubs, and for any society to protect one choice more or less then the other is the height of hypocrisy.

[sasha-bee.livejournal.com]

I go to the Healthworks in Boston, and actually I kind of like that it's all women. It's not a meat market the way some coed gyms are (at least not a straight one :-) ) and I noticed that a lot of women seemed intimidated by the all- or mostly-male free weight areas in coed gyms, whereas at Healthworks it's all for us and everybody feels comfortable to do whatever they want. The women are there for themselves, not to flirt, which is kind of nice to see. I also went to an all-women's college so the all-women environment is one that I'm used to. As for discrimination, there are soooo many gyms around that I doubt anyone could really complain. There's even an all-male gym in the South End, so guys have their own thing if they want it.

[blowtorch-betty.livejournal.com]

The thing that cracks me up about Healthworks is that I know a lot of women go there specifically not to be leered at but I'd say you're much more likely to get checked out there than at a regular gym!

I wanted to go there because it's so nice but I also wanted to be able to go with my husband from time to time so we go to Bally instead. It's the Kmart of gyms but it works.