On point two, they should be fired, or disciplined at least. That’s sexual discrimination, and if they respond with the “this is man stuff” line, then it should be reported to their superior, or higher up the gym food chain.
If there were universal standards, everybody would know them, and everbody would agree with them. If that were true, this thread never would have happened.
On the management side, the big-screen TV’s in the cardio room will never, ever show the Alka-Seltzer US Open of Competitive Eating.
(Yes, this is based on a personal experience I had yesterday.)
Thank you for, through this post, giving me a reason to live. I am now entered as an eater. I will dedicate all my triumphs to the SDMB.
The existance of standards is independent of universal awarness and universal agreement of said standards. Standards can arise spontaneously in a culture or community without said standards being written anywhere.
This is why people of a more individualistic bent, who do not belong to the community in the true sense of the word, seem more likely to 1) be unaware of the standards that the more active members expect to be followed and 2) “violate” these standards.
For example…on this message board there are certain standards or unwritten rules of etiquette that we expect of each other (as well as written rules). New visitors (who do not yet know the culture…and each message board out there has its own culture) or people who stop in infrequently and don’t interact with the community much are more likely to be violators of the expectations of the more regular members.