Here at Groton we pride ourselves on two things: our diversity, and our inclusivity. We care about those two things so much that at least twice a year we have a day devoted entirely to them. And yet, you only have to look as far as our athletic center to find exclusion.

When you walk into the weight room, usually the vast majority of the people in there are male. And why is that? Perhaps it is because girls engage in weight lifting less often than boys do, but another factor is that many girls feel uncomfortable there. When asked about the first word that pops into their head when they think about the weight room, girls responded with words like “uncomfortable,” “intimidated,” “nervous,” and “scared”—one girl even said that she didn’t know because she doesn’t go into the weight room unless she’s with her team. Zizi Kendall ’17, who works out in the weight room every day, said she is no longer intimidated, but still sometimes feels disrespected by boys there. Piper Higgins ’17 and Will Norton ’17, two co-captains of Boys’ Varsity Crew, offer an example of this discomfort. Piper says that she “still feels uncomfortable going into the weight room,” however, Will has “never felt uncomfortable in the weight room.” Why should Piper feel more uncomfortable than him in a room where they both have to go for their sport?

If you walk into the girls’ locker room on most days, you’ll probably see a small group of girls stretching or doing abdominal exercises in the cramped space between the benches and the lockers. Ask any boy, and they will say that nobody does such exercises in the boys’ locker room. This isn’t because girls love the feel of cheap, polyester, locker room carpeting. This is because girls, especially Lower School girls, can be intimidated by the weight room. Two Lower School girls offered their perspective on why they don’t exercise in the weight room. “It’s just scary. I wouldn’t know what to do or where to go,” said Josephine Graney ’20. Eliza Powers ’20 followed up, saying, “I think it’s just more for the guys.”

Most Lower School boys don’t feel that uncomfortable going into the weight room, while the only time Lower School girls venture into the weight room is if they’re on a varsity sport and are doing a workout with Cory. And if Lower School boys do feel uncomfortable going into the weight room, it is no doubt  not the same level of discomfort a Lower School girl feels. Richie Santry ’18 says that when he was in Lower School he “was intimidated by the weight room, but was still willing to enter it, if only a couple of times per year.” Richie is no longer intimidated in the weight room, but it seems that most Upper School girls never get over their fear of it.

It’s important to note that not all girls feel uncomfortable in the weight room. Hallie Bereday ’17, a member of the Girls’ Varsity Crew team, talked about her experience in the space: “I feel completely, one hundred percent comfortable in the weight room, but I understand why people don’t, because there are a lot of boys in there lifting a lot of weight . . . It feels kind of judgmental. Probably more athletic Upper Schools girls would feel more comfortable, and Lower School girls not so much so. I can hold my own in there. If I were weaker, lifting smaller weights, I’d probably feel uncomfortable.”

There’s a hyper-masculine feel surrounding the weight room that is detrimental to both boys and girls. It makes boys feel like in order to be a “man” they have to lift weights, and it makes girls think that in order to be feminine they can’t lift weights, and have to either only do abdominal exercises or run on the treadmill. Working out should not be determined by one’s gender, it should be determined by one’s preference. A boy once, totally innocently, told me that “girls just like running more than boys,” which is completely incorrect. People like what they like, regardless of gender, and by detaching gender roles from different types of exercise, no gender will feel pressure to do a certain type of workout.