May 21
 

har, har.
 
 
 

Last night after meeting with Steve, I decided that I would go talk to the manager of the gym.  He listened patiently to my story (and knew, by the way, who I was talking about before I'd even said two lines), managed not to snicker too much (and apologized when he did, heh) and told me that he felt for me, but that I needed to put the whole shit and shebang in writing for him to do anything about it.  Here's my letter:
 
 

Dear Stephan*:

As per our conversation yesterday, I'm writing a formal letter of complaint against a member of Ballys, Ball Show. This is a strange letter to have to write, because I'm unsure of the proper wording to both alert you to how very serious this is to me, and to cause the minimum of embarrassment to another human being, which is, perhaps overly kind of me considering the fact that he himself seems to be utterly oblivious to the discomfort level his behavior causes to his fellow gym goers.

Dr. Show was first called to my attention when he accidentally exposed himself to me (and the whole gym) while sitting on a hip  abductor machine.  I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in this situation, because his chosen workout attire does not afford him the coverage all men require.  Perhaps it was an oversight on his behalf.  However, subsequent to that incident, I've witnessed him, on more than one occasion- hands cupping eyes to block glare, face and body pressed to the glass outside of the classroom where step and other (primarily attended by women) classes take place.  Again, I'd be willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt if it was a brief glance into the room.  Unfortunately, it is not.  He  and his actions are noticed and discussed by both instructors and members.

Leering at a class of women in often compromising positions is sexual harassment.  There is no other way to phrase it. When he is using circuit training equipment, he does not simply use it and move to the next machine as people typically do, he lingers, often rubbing himself as he halfheartedly pretends to do a set, watching female members working out and rubbing himself on the equipment itself if he is waiting for a machine.   This, to me, is threatening and makes me extremely ill at ease.

I must repeat--his bizarre behavior is noticed, and I am unsure what my next step need be.

I am writing this letter with the promise of anonymity, I would not have peace of mind knowing that my identity was known.  I also do not have peace of mind now, when I work out, and  I am giving careful and very serious consideration to not purchasing more time with a personal trainer at the end of my sessions  and to finding another gym(and trainer) in the New Haven area, to get away from this man's threatening, lewd behavior.   I understand that Ballys is a large corporation, but I sincerely hope that they will not ignore a complaint of this magnitude.  Sexual harassment is illegal, and this situation needs to be dealt with as such.
 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter,
 

Dana
 

[*Steve=Trainer.  Stephan (pronounced  Stef-on.  And he's not gay, go figure)=club manager.]
 

Here's my plan:  First, I get him kicked out of the gym, then, have him fired for being a giant perv. A Ballshow free life is what I require.
 
 

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