Women say they’re sick of being recorded at gyms after a TikToker exposed a man for taking Snapchat pictures of a woman working out.
“Ladies, we need to look out for each other,” the video caption says as “Sick Of It” by KingDiaaa2 plays in the background.
The video, which was posted on Wednesday and by Friday had over 454,000 views, is not the first of its kind. Many women have shared videos of themselves working out while men made them feel paranoid and uncomfortable. Others confronted men directly for taking photos of them.
Gym harassment, stalking, and surveillance create unsafe spaces for women to occupy, leading women to avoid certain areas or times to go to the gym, or quitting altogether. According to a 2019 survey conducted by FitRated, more than 70% of women had an interaction that made them uncomfortable at the gym. Being watched or flirted with were the top two reasons they changed their gym routine.
In the viral video, user@anneli.k8 or Anneli, records as the man flips his camera around and takes a picture of a girl who appears to be tumbling. He starts to type something out before the video ends.
Many women in the comments of the video shared their own experiences at the gym.
“Thank you!” one user commented. “Do you know how uncomfortable it makes us feel … A lot of us wear regular gym clothes and it still doesn’t stop.”
However, some men in the comments said they saw girls do the same thing and that she was filming him as well.
“I don’t understand!” one user commented. “You are doing what you claim he is doing. So it’s OK for you to do it but not him?”
Commenters fought back against this argument, saying these were excuses for invasive and inappropriate behavior and that she was only filming for the sake of evidence.
“Men: this never happens! Women: *record literal proof of it happening in order to not be dismissed again*. Men: well you’re recording him now too, so!” one user commented.
Women in the comments shared that incidents like these are examples of why they often seek women-only spaces where they feel safe and supported. They said they wanted to share the same privilege as men of being able to exercise without being interrupted or harassed.
“It would be a shame if you dropped your water bottle on his phone because you’re sweaty,” one user commented.
The Daily Dot was unable to reach Anneli for a comment.
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