Rejected, Man Sues Women’s Gym Alaskan Charges Discrimination, Claims Owner Said The Clientele Wants To Avoid ‘Sexual Pigs’

Christopher Cox tried to join a women’s health club in Anchorage but was rejected because he is a man. He filed a discrimination complaint with the state Commission for Human Rights.

The case may be the first time the commission staff has considered whether health clubs can restrict their membership to a single sex.

Paula Haley, director of the state Commission for Human Rights, said she could not comment on a specific case. However, she said she believes the question has never come up before in Alaska.

Cox, an Anchorage landlord, said he wanted to join the Women’s Nautilus Club because of its location and prices.

But when he went to get a tour last year, he said, they refused him. When he called and asked for a membership, he said the owner told him no and that women go to the club to get away from “us men, who are all sexual pigs.”

Cox said that was enough.

“We live in a society today … where the bottom line is the one who is stomped all over is the male, especially the white male,” said Cox, who is 29 and stands 6 feet tall.

Owner John Sankey said he remembers talking to Cox and denies making the “sexual pig” comment.

“I don’t think he’s a crusader for male rights,” Sankey said. He said Cox told him he would not complain if Sankey gave him a one-year membership for his girlfriend. Cox denied that.

Sankey said a half-dozen men have stepped into his club over the four years it’s been open but were denied membership. He said Cox’s is the first official complaint he’s gotten.

He said he sees why men would be upset since they have no workout place of their own. His fitness business, which has smaller pink Nautilus machines and painted murals of breasty silhouettes, is geared specifically toward women.

“Look around. We don’t have guys grunting and groaning and dropping barbells and dripping sweat here,” Sankey said.

He said he merely saw a need and tried to meet it with a business. “If you look at the trends of the ‘50s, it moved from separate but equal to the integrated environment. Today, they’re almost to the point where they want to integrate the toilets,” Sankey said.

Haley, director of the human rights commission, said it is unlawful to refuse service to a person based on gender in a place of public accommodation. The question is whether a health club is such a place. If a business is found to be discriminatory, the commission would require a business to change its policy, he said.

Club member Betsy Cottle, 34, said it’s not necessarily men she’s trying to get away from during a workout. It’s the image of the perfect woman she says is present at co-ed clubs.

“People here tend to be more relaxed. There’s no Spandex at this place,” said Cottle, who was exercising while wearing her husband’s shorts.