INT. Industrial building. Public Gym. Virginia.
Two females have placed mats in the free weight area. The plan: pilates with weights.
They stagger the mats, an effort to be space efficient. Two men to their right swing kettlebells over their right shoulder–a quick, sharp movement that ends in a sharp, loud grunt. The females glance in the direction of the men and get back to it. On their backs, they begin the ab series of five, only to be interrupted by a male weightlifter to their left.
Male WL: Don’t mean to be rude, but you know there’s another area for you to do that right?
Female furthest from him: Yes, we are going to use free weights and do some ab work as well. Why are we in your way?
(She says this, knowing she is not in his way, in fact he can do his work elsewhere as well and still because she and her friend are the only two females in the free weight area, she asks as if he is the owner, “are we in your way?” We are not in his way.)
Male WL: Well, yes.
Female furthest from him: Well, we will be done in about 3 minutes, so.
She lays back down and begins her single-leg-series. (Inside she burns to scream, instead she counts down the set, then cues single-straight-leg series.)
The experience brands her. She knows others may say this is not about female vs male, this is just about asshole vs non-asshole, but too many of the same proves her to be right. It is about a woman working out in a man’s gym.
