Going to the gym is an experience, and it isn’t always a positive one. Getting yourself to the gym in the first place takes quite an amount of will power because, in most cases, you are seeking body image improvements. Already, it’s something that you might dread, even though exercising and its physical results are perks. It doesn’t help that a gym is a breeding ground for judges, using machines and racks as a courtroom bench.

I know what you are thinking—how can a man feel subjected to other’s judgmental looks? The answer is that I am a homosexual male. The debate is generally over women being objectified as sexual objects by men when working out, but the truth is that gay guys, especially one’s like me who are not bulky, husky men, are often judged when at the gym. It isn’t by other heterosexual males or women. It’s by other fellow men who compose part of the LGBT community.

You would think that such an oppressed demographic that is usually the subject of hatred and strong opposition would be more unified, but, sadly enough, that isn’t always the case. The gay community is strongly judgmental amongst itself, but that is another story for another column. We are talking about the experience at being at the gym.

Gays are often known for having a good sense of fashion, and I consider myself to be at least a well-dressed man, but, quite frankly, I couldn’t care less how I look when I’m at the gym. However, other gay guys do. I’ve been told that I look like shit at the gym or that I should invest in better workout clothes, which I have strongly objected to. I’m there to get my exercise done and then leave. I have no consideration about what brands I’m wearing as they get drenched in sweat.

To make matters worse, everything about being gay at the gym is sexualized. Women are usually the victims of this, but a gay guy going to a gym is basically going to a gay bar where some straight individuals have gathered for happy hour.

The local gay community is a rather small one; everyone knows everybody somehow, even if it isn’t personally. You can see other gay guys either giving you the wink or whispering to their friends and laughing. It’s either they want to take you out for drinks and take you home and suggest a workout routine that will actually work for you.

The male anatomy, in the gay community, is highly sexualized just as the female one is in the straight male community. You’re either an Adonis or a Plain Jane. Or a Plain Jim, I guess. In my case, a Plain Jim in comfortable clothes that doesn’t emphasize my ass, which, according to other gay guys, I need to work on.

Jose Soto may be reached at [email protected].