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Joey Swoll Sparks Conversation on Harassment Women Face in the Gym

Joey Swoll, the CEO of Gym Positivity, has been using his platform to promote body positivity and to call out toxic behavior at the gym.[0] Recently, he criticized a female TikToker for making fun of an elderly man working out. This has sparked a conversation about the harassment that women face in the gym, and the need for more policy changes to protect them.[1]

In late January 2023, Joey Swoll posted a video on TikTok and Twitter calling out TikToker @gwinie_the_pooh for secretly filming an elderly man working out at the gym and making fun of him.[2] His video gained over 1.9 million views on TikTok, as well as over 107,000 likes and 2.8 million views on Twitter.

The hashtag ‘gym creep’ has more than 37.3 million views on TikTok, as videos show men trying to harass or flirt with women who are just trying to get through their sets.[3] Gina Love, a TikToker, posted a video of a man standing behind her while she was lifting dumbbells, and the video received more than 50,000 likes. Love said she experiences creeps at the gym 15 percent of the time, and that it feels like men are trying to “undress” her “in their heads.”[4]

There has been some backlash against the wave of women posting videos of their experiences in the gym.[1] Joey Swoll has offered his own opinions on the incidents, expressing that filming at the gym should be banned.[1] While taking videos of oneself is fine, including other people in these videos without their consent is where the problem lies.[5] It is still unclear how the trend of filming one’s workout at gyms started, but many feel it is time to take action in order to protect gym-goers from harassment and invasion of privacy.[2]

0. “Gwinie the Pooh Deletes TikTok After Controversy: Details” Distractify, 1 Feb. 2023, https://www.distractify.com/p/gwinie-the-pooh-tiktok-controversy

1. “TikTok star Gina Love explains why she films ‘gym creeps’ while working out” msnNOW, 4 Feb. 2023, https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/mindandbody/tiktok-star-gina-love-explains-why-she-films-gym-creeps-while-working-out/ar-AA176DhN

2. “‘Your Gym Should Kick Your A** Out’: Joey Swoll Reacts to Female TikToker Making Fun of Old Gym-Goer – Fitness Volt” Fitness Volt, 2 Feb. 2023, https://fitnessvolt.com/joey-swoll-loses-it-female-tiktoker/

3. “The toxic women of gym TikTok” The Spectator, 7 Feb. 2023, https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-toxic-women-of-gym-tiktok/

4. “‘Watch this creep’, women call out unwanted male attention at gyms on TikTok” WION, 3 Feb. 2023, https://www.wionews.com/trending/watch-this-creep-women-call-out-unwanted-male-attention-at-gym-on-tiktok-558643

5. ““Should Be Ashamed of Yourself”: Fitness Icon Joey Swoll Openly Calls Out TikToker for Trolling Old Man Working Out in the Gym” EssentiallySports, 2 Feb. 2023, https://www.essentiallysports.com/us-sports-news-bodybuilding-news-should-be-ashamed-of-yourself-fitness-icon-joey-swoll-openly-calls-out-tiktoker-for-trolling-old-man-working-out-in-the-gym/

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