Reader comments
Orem, Provo groups demanding changes at 2 gyms

Why the changes? As long as no skin is showing (and I mean bare, you know) what is the big deal? It's all over the world. There is no hiding from it. Be big boys and girls and deal with it!

Oh great, another nutty group to perpetuate that "bubble" reputation that Utah County cant get rid of.

Seriously everyone who will read this comment, these wacky groups are extremists and not the norm for people who live down here.

I go to Gold's Gym (both the Provo and Orem gym's) and have never been offended. I dont go there to watch the TV's, I go there work out. YOU CANT EVEN HEAR THEY LYRICS THAT ARE SUPOSEDLY OFFENDING ALL OF THE MEMBERS, Its not turned up loud enough normally.

This guy is going overboard and needs to get out into the real world more often. Honestly, if he is getting offended, he best not leave the safety of his house each day.

I find it interesting that the students say that they don't have a "choice anymore" and that "You're forced" into viewing "outright pornography". Who is forcing whom? I have seen no task masters at Gold's forcing anyone to view anything. As far as choice goes.. you have a choice, DON'T WATCH IT IF IT OFFENDS YOU! Watch something else or better yet, don't go at all, vote with your pocket book not your mouth. Over hyped publicity stunts, forced petitions, and false demonstrations only serves to get your 15-minutes worth... The last item in the list of demands tops it all; "Install blinds on the aerobics room to block the dancing, which is very provocative". WhatDaHek, Only in Utah! I think I am going to have to draw the line on this last item... you mean we can't have any wondering eyes accidentally viewing wiggling derri�res? Whats the point of going to the gym then?

From reading the comments I take it that those making the comments are too caught up watching the skin and having daydreams about night things in the middle of the afternoon. (Ronnie Milsap)

When I saw these self-righteous protesters being interviewed on KSL news, I nearly jumped out of my seat, packed and moved out of this state. This is life in a bubble.

Poor BYU nitwits. Go use the University's facilities if you don't like Gold's Gym. Orem City has a nice facility that is much cheaper than Gold's (even for non residents).

much more skin and curves walk by me, shaking their booty, when I frequent Gold's than anything seen / heard on TV or the radio. give me a break. what next? a dress code for gym visitors...

The nerve of these prudish people makes me sick.

First, they don't need to join the gym. Who the heck do they think they are by joining the gym and then demanding that the gym conform to their super silly standards.

You don't want to see people dancing, or working out in something other than full-length dresses or overalls? Then open your own gym, where you can make all the stupid rules you want. Better yet, just stay home with your fat husband or fat wife, because no one needs to have you around.

If I owned these gyms, I'd refund their membership payments (pro-rated, of course), and boot them out the door, never to return. Then I'd go into my office and dance provocatively in my shorts and T-shirt.

If it were pornography, business would be much better for Golds.... Don't like it? Don't go. Just like Pres. Hinkley said about blue-laws and buying cars on Sunday, "If no one buys a car on Sunday, they can't stay open on Sunday." If people are so offended by it then don't go to Golds, and the videos and music won't be there. Do what I do, listen to your own music while working out, and don't watch the TV or anyone that might turn you on. Or, is that too hard to do? These people are implicitly saying that there is something wrong with themselves: they don't have any self control. Just stab out your own eyes and solder your ears shut rather than forcing your inability to deal with your own weaknesses on others.

Great idea, let's forget our values just because the world has forgotten its values. Let's perpetuate improper behavior just because everyone else is doing it. That's VERY SOUND thinking! Where do you people come from and how can you expect to maintain today's lax standards if we continually accept worsening standards??? This is ridiculous. We're seeing the downward spiral of morals in this country and in the world and are starting to see the implications of that downward trend. Teens are more sexually active and provocative than they've been in the past. Violence is pervasive in our societies, even extending to our roadways. If we do not work hard to uphold good values then society is doomed to a never-ending misery and will be subjected to endless trouble.

And get over the LDS/Non-LDS argument, this extends to all of society. Do not persecute or criticize any group that seeks to uphold moral values and decency.

If Gold's Gym wants to attract business by using these means then there should be a business classification of Adult Only Exercise, or something similar. That'll restrict minors from possibly entering the facility.

Get over it and uphold values!!!

Yes, given this locale, special signage may be necessary. Perhaps...
Caution: Contents may be HOT!
or
Caution: Reality inside! We highly encourage you to consider this before you purchase a membership.

I can only assume Mr. Yaffe and the others are offended by the videos and the aerobics participants because they are turned on by them. I would be interested to know how many of the protesters are, in fact, members of Gold�s Gym. When I joined my gym (not Gold�s), I checked out several gyms and took advantage of guest passes to make sure that I would join the gym that best suited my needs. If I had found the environment of a certain gym offensive, I simply would not have joined that one. Anyone who joins a club on his own volition and then demands that they change their practices to suit him is an unreasonable idiot.

Perhaps Gold�s should only show Fox News on their TVs and require that their patrons work out in burkhas? Would that please Mr. Yaffe et al.? That way everyone could work out without being so . . . er, stimulated.

Have you ever been in a Gold's Gym? You don't see the videos or hear the music unless you really want to. And like so many have said before me, if you don't like it, don't go!

Reading this article, I can picture the ideal Utah Valley Gym: divider down the middle between boys and girls sections, everyone in pioneer clothes to their ankles and wrists, and Conference talks playing over the loudspeakers....

(oh and I am LDS, so don't get all huffy about outsider persecution...)

Here's at least one person who would seriously consider canceling his membership...if he doesn't get to see the hotties in spandex doing the strip-tease dances.

I forsee a crafty First Amendment conduct-as-expression argument by potential lawyers for the gym if the city takes action.
Tread carefully utah county officials . . .

Hey Utah County: Grow up. Act like adults. Sexually explicit PG-13 movies? Are you kidding us? Anyone who is seeing sexually explicit images in a PG-13 movie is a pervert.

Checking out the hotties in skimpy, tight, fitted clothes is what makes the Provo/Orem Gold's Gyms better than working out at home or anywhere else. Ironically, it is the Mormon protesters Mormon compatriots that are likely "dancing provocatively" in the aerobics room.

In all seriousness (all the above is serious too) what I don't like about the Gold's in Provo/Orem is that they made a new policy that you couldn't change the channel on TVs to even watch a Jazz came or that the had two 24hr news channels going (three if you count Fox PropogandaNews).

This story certainly pertains to the questionable conduct at a specific location, but there is another message being missed by many who have commented:

The tide of shifting values especially in the wrong direction brings about instability within a community as well as a number of other more disturbing crimes and detriments. When standards, morals, and values are lowered to satisfy the lusts and appetites of the flesh, selfishness takes over with vengeance. A simple �norm� in society must not be allowed simply because �everybody is doing it� and especially when it defames the purpose of our entire existence and our own unique missions. What kind of society promotes lewdness, the satisfaction of selfish lusts, and breaking up family units, the most basic and precious unit in society? Where are the values that this country is founded upon? Why are we trying to stoop lower and lower into the same duress as other societies? Do we not understand the consequences of allowing sexual promiscuity or the forerunners of hard core pornography? Why are we promoting the very things we are fighting on a daily basis in court (i.e. domestic abuse, sexual predation, violence, etc.)? Surely we are better than this!

You know you could provide your own media while working out!? You dont have to look at the screen or you can request them to change the channel! This is so ridiculous. If there is a picket line I will definitely be crossing.

I agree that you can't really hear the music and you don't have to watch the stuff on the TV's at Gold's if you don't want to. It's easy to avoid if it bothers you that much. However during a recent visit to the Gold's in AF, I saw a man spend the better part of an hour sitting on a machine directly in front of the window to the aerobics room watching intently as the women did pelvic thrusts. This man was not using the machine he was on, he was just watching, and getting visibly aroused. I for one would not want to be one of the girls being watched. Whose to say that this guy, and others like him aren't psychopaths that are going to end up stalking some poor girl that was just trying to firm up her backside? It wouldn't kill them to put up blinds.