Gym-goer shocked by barbells labelled - by gender
- 9 months ago
A gym-goer was shocked after noticing barbells had been labelled - by gender.
Elle Sampiere, 23, was working out at a gym in Lacanau, France, when she noticed that light weights were labeled for women and heavier weights for men.
Elle, a fitness influencer and pro surfer, had never seen barbells labelled before and was "surprised" to see the words "women" and "men" painted on the wall.
Elle, from Solana Beach, California, USA, said: "I'm not a super strong feminist or was offended in any way by this.
"I was more just surprised that that was still on the wall here in France.
"I was raised in a gym environment where we were not supposed to call it the girl bar.
"I know that they make 20kg barbells and I know that they make 15kg barbells and I know why they do that.
"However, I've never seen it labelled as like, women and men, it could have been really sensitive for some people."
Elle posted the video on TikTok and some social media users pointed that this was common practice in the weightlifting world.
Elle responded to the criticism by explaining that she knew this but was shocked that it was literally labelled by gender in the modern era.
Elle has nearly 200,000 followers on TikTok and is conscious of the people who follow her and the example she feels she needs to set.
She said: "My point was more like, if you're gonna label the bars, just label it 20 and 15.
"Ever since I have gained this responsibility of, you know, being an 'influencer' and like inspiring young girls to either go to the gym or go surfing.
"So when they messaged me and they're nervous to go to the gym or they don't have the confidence and they're saying that I inspired them to go there, I think about them and what they might think when they go to the gym and they see something like that."
The footage was captured on August 16.
Elle Sampiere, 23, was working out at a gym in Lacanau, France, when she noticed that light weights were labeled for women and heavier weights for men.
Elle, a fitness influencer and pro surfer, had never seen barbells labelled before and was "surprised" to see the words "women" and "men" painted on the wall.
Elle, from Solana Beach, California, USA, said: "I'm not a super strong feminist or was offended in any way by this.
"I was more just surprised that that was still on the wall here in France.
"I was raised in a gym environment where we were not supposed to call it the girl bar.
"I know that they make 20kg barbells and I know that they make 15kg barbells and I know why they do that.
"However, I've never seen it labelled as like, women and men, it could have been really sensitive for some people."
Elle posted the video on TikTok and some social media users pointed that this was common practice in the weightlifting world.
Elle responded to the criticism by explaining that she knew this but was shocked that it was literally labelled by gender in the modern era.
Elle has nearly 200,000 followers on TikTok and is conscious of the people who follow her and the example she feels she needs to set.
She said: "My point was more like, if you're gonna label the bars, just label it 20 and 15.
"Ever since I have gained this responsibility of, you know, being an 'influencer' and like inspiring young girls to either go to the gym or go surfing.
"So when they messaged me and they're nervous to go to the gym or they don't have the confidence and they're saying that I inspired them to go there, I think about them and what they might think when they go to the gym and they see something like that."
The footage was captured on August 16.