Ronda women up in arms over gym’s sexist poster

WOMEN from Ronda and further afield are in outrage over a poster they believe to be insulting and sexist released by a local gym.

‘Just be ugly!’ is the slogan that accompanies an image of a slim, toned woman with her face blanked out on the posters, which have appeared outside the gym.

While gym-users complain that they feel offended and annoyed at the giggles and sexist comments the poster has provoked, an online women’s news and services site, MujerLife, has taken matters further.

MujerLife director Carmen Romero explained that her group has reported the gym to the Andalucian Non-Sexist Advertising Observatory, and also criticised the fact that Andalucia TV station Canal Sur promotes the gym in the programme La Bascula (The Scales), in which people compete to lose weight.

“We cannot allow Canal Sur, a public service paid for by the people of Andalucia, to support and collaborate with a gym that promotes its services in such a sexist and insulting way,” Romero said.

“The poster is denigrating towards women and overweight people as it promotes the idea that standard beauty is related to success and offers the body as an area of imperfections that must be corrected. It also represents the human body as an object,” the director continued.

“We’re tired of the stereotypes built around women, whose interests apparently should be restricted to beauty and fashion, and I am outraged that the political classes only fight for our rights on March 8,” Romero concluded.

Meanwhile Women’s Councillor for Ronda, Maria Jose Zarzadilla, stated that she hadn’t known about the poster, and said it was in very bad taste.