Blowback on Harvard Gym Women-Only Hours?

There's a great deal of interest in Harvard's recent decision to make one of their gyms "women-only" for six hours a week, in response to a request by the Harvard Islamic Society (HIS).  I wrote my Five Reasons Why Women-Only Gym Hours at Harvard is a Bad Idea, which Universal Hub linked to, with many comments there.  Fox News covered the story, Greta von Susteren blogged about it, Instapundit linked to Michael Graham's column on Harvard - this story has legs!   

Most public reaction has been unfavorable and most people see it as being discriminatory against men.  Instapundit reports that a law professor wrote him stating that this is most certainly illegal, with precedent set in Massachusetts [Hassan and DiCenso v. City of Boston, et al., 20 MDLR 83].  Let's hope some Harvard Law student or grad sues the college.

While acknowledging that some women have insecurities about exercising in co-ed gyms, I still think it's a terrible idea.  Plenty of Muslim women work out in co-ed gyms without any problem.   This rewards fundamentalist Muslims, who believe in strict segregation of the sexes and that unchaperoned women cannot be in the company of unrelated men.  Why should Harvard cater to shariah law? 

What about all the geeky guys who have insecurities about exercising alongside beefy guys?  Who's looking out for the nerds?  What about the old folks who don't like working out next to young punks?  Who's looking out for the transgenders?   Why stop at having women-only hours?  Let's assign every interest group its own hours. 

Meanwhile, the Harvard Islamic Society issued a press release yesterday.  Notably missing were the Inshallahs of the e-mails that HIS sent to its members on the subject. Here's what the press release said:

"The Harvard Islamic Society welcomes the recent initiative by the Harvard administration to introduce women's hours in one of the university gyms. This is a policy of inclusion, and it exemplifies Harvard's commitment to religious and cultural diversity."

Uhmm, only the adherents of one religion are calling for women-only hours at Harvard's gym.

"Women's hours provide a comfortable and supportive workout environment for a segment of women on our campus. The nationwide popularity of a women's gym like Curves and designated women's workout areas at fitness centers like Gold's Gym suggests that this need is not limited to one religion or campus."

Hogwash.  Gold's Gyms do not set aside women-only areas.  Gold's Gyms are co-ed, even in Egypt, Jordan and the UAE.  Curves is women-only.  Curves is not federally funded.

"We recognize that university policies must address a variety of moral and practical considerations, and empathize with concerns about limiting access to other users. And yet the Mission of Harvard College encourages students '"to pursue excellence in a spirit of productive cooperation.' It is this spirit that enables us to transcend competing interests and grant each other the space to thrive. "

Blather. The fundamentalist members of the HIS could "pursue excellence" by integrating and following the norms of the secular, co-ed institution that they attend, instead of demanding separation and special treatment.  If it's so very important to avoid exercising in the company of men, you can always transfer to Wellesley or Smith.  Or maybe attend school in Saudi Arabia or Iran.  I'm pretty sure they have separate gyms there.