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Same Sex Workouts
Aired May 20, 2003 - 13:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, it's illegal for fitness -- it's now, rather, legal for fitness centers in Wisconsin to discriminate on the basis of gender. The governor has signed legislation exempting gyms from state anti-discrimination laws. And he says women lobbied for this bill.
Joining me to talk about it, Wisconsin state Senator Carol Roessler. She sponsored the bill in the Senate.
Senator, good to have you with us.
CAROL ROESSLER, WISCONSIN STATE SENATE: And it's a pleasure to be with you.
And let's, right off the bat, talk about it's really not gym, it's really focused on fitness centers, which could be defined differently than just a broad gym terminology. But it's specifically for fitness centers.
PHILLIPS: All right,let's talk about those fitness centers then, And now this exception that's taken place from the anti-discrimination law. I want to make the point this is just with regard to gender. This is supposed to encourage women, or more people to get out and exercise, and feel comfortable in these fitness centers. Do you think this is going to work, or is it just going to open up a Pandora's Box here?
ROESSLER: Oh, I know it's going to work. We have more than 200 different women's fitness centers that have catered to, marketed to, and where women have enjoyed that membership for quite some time now here in the state of Wisconsin.
And we were one of a handful of states that had, in our public accommodation law, not the exception for fitness center. So we now have joined states like Massachusetts, Illinois, to make that specific exemption in our law, and many other states haven't had to do this because they didn't have a specific accommodation area that needed to be refined for this. It is narrowly crafted. It applies only to fitness centers that want to market or provide programming for age- under exclusive group, whether it be for men or for women only, either of those two cases.
PHILLIPS: Well, Senator, you talk about how narrow this is, and we're just talking about gender. But doesn't this open up the possibility that maybe you could just possibly fudge this law one more time and say, OK, now we have an all-female fitness centerings, now let's move towards an all-white female center, or let's move to an all-gay gym? I mean, this is the concern, these are what the critics are saying -- you move one way, it could possibly lead to other avenues.
ROESSLER: Well, we have very closely scrutinized that here in Wisconsin. We scrutinized our laws, and have clearly identified and carved out just this very particular exclusion.
So the answer is no, absolutely not. Will it apply to any other type of discrimination? This is for the purpose of privacy wellness, for encouraging exercise, restorative care, greater flexibility amongst folks, and we've got skyrocketing health care cost. And if a group, a particular gender is more comfortable exercising in an atmosphere where they're encouraged by their peers of the like sex, then we think we ought to provide for them the freedom of choice to choose that environment in which they're most comfortable, with people of their peers, their like sex, men or women, in either instance.
PHILLIPS: Senator, real quickly, I've got to ask you before we go, do you go to a fitness center and workout?
ROESSLER: I was asked to introduce this bill on behalf of a fitness center in my district, a Kerr's (ph) Center, and after I was at their facility, I determined I, too, needed to join Kerr's (ph) and be there. I go on a very sporadic basis.
But the answer is yes, the equipment there is designed specifically for women. Many women who are engaged in restorative care or disease maintenance are finding that that's the best place for them to be because of the specific attention to their particular disease and its affect on women, and the exercise facility provided there. So the answer is yes to your question.
PHILLIPS: It will be interesting to see the whole competition factor. I don't know, I get pushed a little harder whether it's athletics, on the golf course with men, or in the gym. I would assume as a senator, you're surrounded by a number of men, that composition is healthy.
ROESSLER: Competition is very, very healthy. I think in this instance, I will recite for you the case of an 86-year-old woman, who was with the governor of Wisconsin, Governor Doyle, yesterday and myself at the signing of this bill, and she talked about the competitive environment, and how at 86 years of age -- and I've talked to many women in their 80s and 70s who are not interested in that competitive factor any longer, but they're very, very interested in restorative care and greater flexibility and movement, and managing diseases or promoting their own health and wellness. And I think that's a good message for all of us.
PHILLIPS: Senator Carol Roessler, thanks for your time. We'll be following to see how this goes.
ROESSLER: Thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 20, 2003 - 13:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, it's illegal for fitness -- it's now, rather, legal for fitness centers in Wisconsin to discriminate on the basis of gender. The governor has signed legislation exempting gyms from state anti-discrimination laws. And he says women lobbied for this bill.
Joining me to talk about it, Wisconsin state Senator Carol Roessler. She sponsored the bill in the Senate.
Senator, good to have you with us.
CAROL ROESSLER, WISCONSIN STATE SENATE: And it's a pleasure to be with you.
And let's, right off the bat, talk about it's really not gym, it's really focused on fitness centers, which could be defined differently than just a broad gym terminology. But it's specifically for fitness centers.
PHILLIPS: All right,let's talk about those fitness centers then, And now this exception that's taken place from the anti-discrimination law. I want to make the point this is just with regard to gender. This is supposed to encourage women, or more people to get out and exercise, and feel comfortable in these fitness centers. Do you think this is going to work, or is it just going to open up a Pandora's Box here?
ROESSLER: Oh, I know it's going to work. We have more than 200 different women's fitness centers that have catered to, marketed to, and where women have enjoyed that membership for quite some time now here in the state of Wisconsin.
And we were one of a handful of states that had, in our public accommodation law, not the exception for fitness center. So we now have joined states like Massachusetts, Illinois, to make that specific exemption in our law, and many other states haven't had to do this because they didn't have a specific accommodation area that needed to be refined for this. It is narrowly crafted. It applies only to fitness centers that want to market or provide programming for age- under exclusive group, whether it be for men or for women only, either of those two cases.
PHILLIPS: Well, Senator, you talk about how narrow this is, and we're just talking about gender. But doesn't this open up the possibility that maybe you could just possibly fudge this law one more time and say, OK, now we have an all-female fitness centerings, now let's move towards an all-white female center, or let's move to an all-gay gym? I mean, this is the concern, these are what the critics are saying -- you move one way, it could possibly lead to other avenues.
ROESSLER: Well, we have very closely scrutinized that here in Wisconsin. We scrutinized our laws, and have clearly identified and carved out just this very particular exclusion.
So the answer is no, absolutely not. Will it apply to any other type of discrimination? This is for the purpose of privacy wellness, for encouraging exercise, restorative care, greater flexibility amongst folks, and we've got skyrocketing health care cost. And if a group, a particular gender is more comfortable exercising in an atmosphere where they're encouraged by their peers of the like sex, then we think we ought to provide for them the freedom of choice to choose that environment in which they're most comfortable, with people of their peers, their like sex, men or women, in either instance.
PHILLIPS: Senator, real quickly, I've got to ask you before we go, do you go to a fitness center and workout?
ROESSLER: I was asked to introduce this bill on behalf of a fitness center in my district, a Kerr's (ph) Center, and after I was at their facility, I determined I, too, needed to join Kerr's (ph) and be there. I go on a very sporadic basis.
But the answer is yes, the equipment there is designed specifically for women. Many women who are engaged in restorative care or disease maintenance are finding that that's the best place for them to be because of the specific attention to their particular disease and its affect on women, and the exercise facility provided there. So the answer is yes to your question.
PHILLIPS: It will be interesting to see the whole competition factor. I don't know, I get pushed a little harder whether it's athletics, on the golf course with men, or in the gym. I would assume as a senator, you're surrounded by a number of men, that composition is healthy.
ROESSLER: Competition is very, very healthy. I think in this instance, I will recite for you the case of an 86-year-old woman, who was with the governor of Wisconsin, Governor Doyle, yesterday and myself at the signing of this bill, and she talked about the competitive environment, and how at 86 years of age -- and I've talked to many women in their 80s and 70s who are not interested in that competitive factor any longer, but they're very, very interested in restorative care and greater flexibility and movement, and managing diseases or promoting their own health and wellness. And I think that's a good message for all of us.
PHILLIPS: Senator Carol Roessler, thanks for your time. We'll be following to see how this goes.
ROESSLER: Thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
