Weighing the Differences

There was a time when I made the decision to drop in the school weight room. A friend of mine had created a new workout routine, and I wanted to try it out (cuz working out after school is obviously more worthy than taking a nap and watching Netflix). Anyways, as I walked in that day, I immediately got stares from all corners of the room as if I stepped into wrong territory. Nonetheless, I followed through with most of the routine. However, I found myself staying away from the actual weight machines and making do with the dumbbells and elliptical. The boys were all "solid piles of rocks" as they huffed and puffed, all benching 100+. That experience was eye-opening for me. Looking back I now wonder why and how the weight room became such a gendered spot. Is it because girls simply don't prefer going to the weight room? Or is it because girls feel pressured not to go to a weight room due to its "masculinity"? It is evident that there are different parts of the body that are seemingly more important to each gender. For men, they should focus on a six-pack, biceps, and overall triangular body shape. While girls look mainly at their chest, butt, waist, and overall hourglass figure. This is probably why you hardly ever see girls at a  weight room because a yoga mat at home can do the job. It is nonsensical to have these standards placed on men and women. It only seems right that men build muscle and girls keep slim. However, men and women can have similar fitness goals. There is no set routine or machines more suitable for either gender. Society tends to deflect that subject by pointing out the physical differences between the sexes. Since people help push for this standard, there is a loss of individualism. Men and women are so fixed on achieving the perfect body and living up to societal standards in general. People don't even question why that ideal is ideal. We live in such a diverse world, but it'd be nice if we could actually see the variety in people: externally and internally.