From gyms to hostels, women in China are creating female-friendly spaces in growing trend
- The phenomenon is in stark contrast to China’s official clubs and elite politics, where female participation is minimal, if not absent
- Most of the services advertised on social media stress tolerance, comfort and warmth in a place where ‘girls help girls’
Zhang, who used to exercise five times a week, told the South China Morning Post that the gyms had very few female trainers and the men did not understand women’s bodies or how they wanted to shape them.
“Most of the gym members are men. If you have a good body and you walk into a gym surrounded by men, it’s quite awkward,” she added.
In 2022, Zhang decided to create her own all-women gym, joining a small but steadily growing trend as Chinese women – tired of the male gaze, feeling unsafe or being overlooked – in recent years have opted for female-only spaces.
The phenomenon stands in stark contrast to the official clubs and elite politics of China, where female participation is often minimal, if not absent.
At Modern Training, during the lunch break of a normal weekday, a woman is being guided by one of its five female trainers on how to use a weightlifting machine correctly.
