Online, many point out the sexism of the cartel: why are those disrespectful behaviors attributed only to women?
“I am Only cultured and elegant women are admitted“: with these words a gym opened a debate on the prevailing discrimination in South Korea. In fact, the structure put up a sign saying “access to the ajummas is prohibited”, a term that indicates middle-aged women, but which also has a derogatory connotation. Within a short time, the controversy mounted, calling into question sexism and stereotypes.
How the story began
At the center of the debate is a sign hanging in a gym in Incheon, a Korean city near Seoul, whose photo ended up on the online platform Blind, going viral. The sign reads the word “ajumma”, generically used for mature women. According to BBCthe term indicates who has left thirty behind. The word not only has a personal connotation, but is also used for those who behave in a rude or spiteful way (and in fact it is avoided in formal contexts). Second The Korean Herald, the gym also posted a second sign with eight criteria to clarify what it means by ajumma. Behaviors unrelated to age or marital status such as “sitting in seats reserved for pregnant women on public transport”, “repeating yourself” or “being frugal with your own money but not with that of others”.
The gym’s answer
Interviewed by the South Korean news agency Yonhap, the establishment justified the decision to limit access to “cultured and elegant women” by explaining that older customers “They spent an hour or two in the changing room doing laundry and stole items such as towels, soaps or hairdryers” and who “commented on and judged the bodies of others.” Behaviors that would have forced many girls to leave the gym. But if the story of a small gym has gone viral it is certainly no coincidence. The sign reignites an old debate about the intolerance of Korean society: more and more public establishments limit access to particular groups, such as children and the elderly. In its race towards modernity, South Korea must deal with traditions and rigid social norms. Wearing short hair, for example, is generally frowned upon for women, as is living unmarried. Online, many point out the cartel’s sexism: why are those disrespectful behaviors attributed only to women? “Older men behave the same way – explained psychology professor Park Sang-hee in a TV interview JTBCthen resumed by BBC -. Even older men are obsessed with free things and repeat the same things over and over again. Rude behavior is not exclusive to mature women.”
