Is verbal harassment common at the gym? And do women or men catch more of it?

Hard to answer given that what constitutes "harassment" is subjective and in the eye of the beholder. One persons joke is another persons harassment. One persons constructive criticism is anothers harassment etc.

I am not a gym rat, it has been a while since i went to a gym to exercise...but when I did I didn't witness anything I'd personally call harassment.

I think the issue might be there are some out there who would consider a fit person grunting away as they lift their impressively heavy weight to be "harrassment" of a sort because it offends that person to be around that. Which is why gym's like Planet Fitness exist.

Stockholm_Andy wrote: »

No not once in 25 plus years of training in various gyms in multiple countries...

IMHO For some reason it's something people how aren't familiar with gym culture worry about that really isn't and issue.

I've been using gyms since 1973 and never been harassed or seen/heard harassment.
Agree with some people having an excessive concern about something that's rare, probably based on feeling out of place or being judged.

My daughter felt uncomfortable using the free weights section of the gym and would stick to the cardio and weights machines as they felt more familiar and "safe". That's really on her and not the gym or the people training there though to be honest.
A couple of sessions training with me and setting up a routine got her past that.

Never seen this at my gym. There are always trainers (who are gym staff) around working with clients, so I imagine anything like this would get shut down pretty quickly.

I worked out at a really old school powerlifting gym on vacation last year that reminded me of the weight room in high school 35 years ago -- no AC, rusty plates and bars, lots of squat racks, multiple platforms). When I first walked in I saw the flags of a ton of military units plus various biker-related decorations, and --- based on my own preconceive notions -- I sort of wondered if the gym culture would be unpleasant. Turns out, it was exactly like my regular gym --- everybody minded their own business and did their thing. There were a lot of big, really strong guys there, but also people who looked like they were just starting out. Once I was there for a while, I noticed signed posters of local athletes of both genders and many ethnicities hanging on the walls, plus a big rainbow flag hanging among the military ones. Seemed like a place pretty much anyone would feel comfortable working out.

Harassment? No. Other than years ago with gyms pushing memberships and premium packages.

I don't think this it's so much about harassment and more about our general communication skills withering and dying. Like any muscle this needs to be worked and have resistance. It takes practice and multiple failures, but unrealistic expectations of perfection mixed with a tendency toward passive aggression make this challenging.

I do see a movement started pushing back against this - making a clear distinction between assertiveness and harassment.

Back in 2012 starting out, my sister and I were stalked daily on our walking and later, our running routes by women who would hurl expletives, from "You (b)itches" to "men thieves" at us as we worked out. Going to the Caltech gym was a place of solace. Zero judgement zone. People mind their own business. Moving further south of Los Angeles, choosing to road run introduced a different element when considering bad drivers attempting to run red lights. We have escaped being run over at the traffic lights crossing over to run a trail VS actually running on road with no sidewalks.

You don't have to know people who will choose to assault you as you workout. An Italian male friend who also runs, witnessed a woman who would consistently attempt to run us over revealed to us, that at times, it's the individual's own sense of self hate transferred to those of us who commit to our lives of fitness, no matter the weather. We don't live in the world of it's too hot, it's raining, it's freezing out ... We knock it out. No excuses. In our cases, the weight room is a "me zone." Road running leaves you open to the general publics moods and physicalisation of those temperaments.