Dancing with the devil

"If our Lord wasn't testing us, how would you account for the proliferation, these days, of this obscene rock and roll music, with its gospel of easy sexuality and relaxed morality?" -- Reverend Shaw Moore, Footloose, 1984

"Hey, hey! What's this I see? I thought this was a party. LET'S DANCE!" -- Ren (aka Kevin Bacon), Footloose, 1984.

OK, so admittedly this was partly just an excuse for me to go hunting for fun quotes from one of my fave movies ever (oh, how I yearned to be Ariel with her red cowboy boots and awesomely feathered hair.) But these IS relevance to some crazy shenanigans currently taking place in Utah.

A group of college students has called out two Gold's Gyms, popular with Brigham Young University and Utah Valley State College, saying that the music videos being shown in thgym are pornographic. Five student orgs have collected nearly 1,000 signatures on a petition asking Gold's Gym to quit showing the videos.

ALSO...

The students are demanding that blinds be installed blinds in the aerobics room to block the view of people dancing, which is "very provocative."

Well, they almost came kinda close to having me see their side with the video issue, but they lost me at "provocative dancing."

Here's my take: Many music videos are bad for our emotional health. They may be degrading or exploit women - that's not really debatable. And people should be able to work, shop and workout in a world where they don't feel degraded or exploited.

But my friends, that is a fairy tale land where Caramello bars grow from trees and sparkly unicorns make cozy house pets.

Yes, I am always urging you/myself to rally against the ad agencies that show women as inanimate objects/victims of violence/dismembered body parts in orer to sell their swag. This, I believe in. And I do wish that gyms didn't show videos of girls having credit cards swiped through their butts (Nelly). In fact, some of you may recall my writing about a mild tirade I went on years ago at a Bally's when they played Weird Al Yankovic's video "Fat" because I thought it sent the wrong message to clients.

But I also think that likening Jazzercise to the Red Light District is indicative of a very stringent, unrealistic and outdated viewpoint. If somebody asked me to stop dancing/stretching/Downward Dogging because they thought I was being too provocative, I would proceed to turn around, hike my shorts up to my collarbone, and attempt a tripod just to piss them off. In fact, I remember once working out with my friend Ali at a gym in Rochester, MN, owned by the Mayo Clinic, and an employee asked me to put a tee shirt on (I was wearing a tank top). This was a no-shoulders-allowed gym. I was way upset. Why the hell should I wear clothing that makes me physically uncomfortable (I sweat like Michael Jordan when I exercise and tees make me feel gross) simply because of some gym policy? I grudgingly wrapped a towel around my shoulders and the minute he walked away, I threw it down with dramatic flair.

Then again, am I being hypocritical? I want to be comfortable and resent opinions that I deem offensive, but these students, obviously, feel the same. Who's to say the more liberal among us are right? (I mean, we are, but still.) It's a tough quandry.

Allright, I'm rambling now...perhaps because I just realized that I might not be practicing what I preach. Tell me - do you think a gym should have to turn off videos that certain patrons find offensive? I suppose that, to make changes, starting small, like at our local gym, makes more sense that attacking global campaigns. And does this pave the way to banning radio because the lyrics are degrading?

And what of the dancing thing?

I'm going to go boogie some stress away in my family room.

PS If you are reading this blog and this blog references Kevin Bacon, you are officially just two degrees away from him. Mazel tov.

Comments

I'm a bellydancer, and in college, I never did the college bellydance because students would gawk from outside the windows. Too many people associate bellydance with stripping vs. an art form, so I don't mind being in a 'blinded' room. Right now, I am dancing in an elementary school at night. Some kids walk by with their parents so my teacher put up paper. She works there, and I guess she doesn't want people getting the wrong idea, unfortunately. Yet, for most other dance, I say shake it and people don't have to look if it offends them...I mean you are at a gym to workout, if you are staring at the aerobics room, that's your problem.

I do think though the gym could not play certain channels that have skanky videos because sometimes younger kids are at the gym and some parents would not like that.

A friend and I had a good discussion regarding this last week--
I get them being uncomfortable with the videos. Great, they are petitioning the management. There were plans to picket and I draw the line there--gyms are a dime a dozen in most places, if they won't change, take your money elsewhere. Don't stop other people from getting their workout on. If enough people left the gym, I bet the policy would change.

and the blinds on the aerobics room is ridiculous. If they think it's erotic, they should try taking a class. They won't think so anymore.

I'm sorry, did I miss the memo that said that people would be happy and comfortable all their lives? Because I have to tell you, I am NOT comfortable with public displays of affection on the train, NOT comfortable with screaming kids in a grocery store, NOT comfortable with phones that ring at inappropriate times. Who should I petition? Or should I just get the hell over it and move on with my life?

I get the video thing...sort of. But is that the only place a person can cast their eyes while exercising? Really? The screen is THAT big that you can't actually not see it?

Wow! It would appear that I'm a a titch cranky this evening. ;)

The only way I might advocate blinds is if the gym were actually a campus gym. I understand that religions have specific views of appropriate dancing, dress, etc. and if a BYU gym wanted to put up blinds, that would be consistent with their charter. But just because the gym is popular with students from BYU doesn't mean that they should automatically get their way on this.

Footloose quotes for breakfast...that just made my whole day ;-)

I'll have to second Lady Shanny's thoughts. I have learned to accept that others feel the need to populate the earth with their obnoxious offspring. Some things in life you just have to deal with!

a land where caramello bars grow on trees! that would be amazing but also incredibly dangerous --- like a land where heroin is legal and your mom smokes crack. i

I think that is crazy. If they don't like the gym, then they have the freedom of choice to go somewhere else!

Too funny... I was visiting a friend of mine who lives in a rural area here in Michigan. She works out at an Anytime Fitness, which is a franchise chain here in Michigan (Midwest, too? I don't know). But anyway, a born again Christian, plays nothing but Christian music (and we're not talking hymns, but Christian rock, just for the record). Apparently a few of the patrons of the gym are offended. The owner said, "This is my place of business where I spend the majority of my time. And I'm not going to deny my God just because you don't like it. This is also why I've invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in machines with video screens right on them. And you're always welcome to bring your own music and plug into that."

I think in my little example, the owner is right. She's already invested money in alternative solutions, and you're always welcome to bring your own. However, a national chain like Gold's is just that... A national chain. I'm with Nikki. Leave complaints to campus gyms only.

I agree with workout mommy. People who don't like the environment in the gym are free to choose a different place to exercise. Myself, I wouldn't mind the blinds because I don't necessarily like having observers around when I'm huffing my way through Cardio Kick-Box, but I find the sight of aerobic dance classes in no way erotic or offensive. Then again, BYU has a pretty conservative dress code (check out the link below), so maybe it's a cultural thing...
http://sha.byu.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5230

Jen...that link is fantastic! I love how they try to make the poster really hip, but then it says "If you can see the thigh...the slits too high." Hilarious!

I definitely agree with Lady Shanny and Workout Mommy. These are not campus gyms, they are individually owned and operated. And sometimes you just need to get over it!

There was another case in Utah, a few months ago, in which a woman sued a restaurant because another diner had a bottle of wine on his table, and she was offended by that. I think the case was thrown out.
Look, if my kids start throwing a fit in the store, I take them outside. I don't make out with my husband on the train. I try to respect other people, but it goes way too far sometimes! Just this morning there's a story of a couple suing their real estate agent because they bought a house a couple of years ago, before the market tanked, and now think they paid too much for it! When asked if they had any responsibility, as the buyers, they said "Absolutely not!"

How spoiled can we get?

Let me just add this, then I'll shut up. If you walk by a gym, and there are windows, and you see a class going on, and you stop and gawk (which, IMHO, is kinda rude), and you're "corrupted" by what you see, is it the gym's fault, or your own? Don't you have the power to walk away?
Did that realtor hold a gun to the couples' heads and force them to buy that (beautiful) house in a really nice part of San Diego (one of the highest-priced housing markets in the country)?
Just wondering.

Am I the only LDS (AKA Mormon) reader of this blog? I would like to first point out that I agree with all of you - it's a private gym and therefore if the people don't like it, they should take their business elsewhere.

But, by way of an explanation, this is definitely a cultural thing in Utah. There are hundreds of examples just like this one. I went to school there, although not at BYU. The religion permeates everything and sometimes the people take it too far.

The Mormon Culture is NOT the same as the LDS (Mormon) religion. The LDS church is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life and means everything to me. But the culture? Not so much. It's why I choose not to live in Utah.

The students have a right to state their feelings and the gym has the right to run its business as it sees fit. Hopefully the two can compromise.

Charlotte, I hope we haven't come off as anti-Mormon, or any religion. It's more a question of personal responsibility than religious beliefs, I think. I live near San Francisco, and I consider myself pretty liberal, but there are folks in the city who are OUT THERE, and who take it way too far, so I can kind of relate.

Charlotte, I am with you. I am also LDS and still live in Utah. Sometimes, even as a church member, all you can do is laugh at the extreme Mormon culture here.

The students have the right to be offended if they want to be, but it's their responsibility to find a gym that has blinds or else work out on campus (BYU has a great gym facility) because Gold's Gym has the right to do whatever they want with their business.