what??? trying to provoke discussion in a forum? how unreasonable!

what is he trying to say?

didn't his post start with i think?

Yes, followed by 'the point is'.

The article is so full of entertainment, it's like being a kid in a candy store.

Wow, just wow. 'Too white'?!? If someone wrote an article about something being 'too black', they'd most likely be reprimanded and demonized, but it's ok to bash whites?

Who approves of this crap to be published?

She's really comes off as a racist alt lefty.

I think Rol was just trolling and you guys fell for it.

"“The messaging,” says Stanley, “is essentially: You’re allowed in this space if you are white, slender, able-bodied and less than 45, cis-gender and heterosexual. And if you’re not, then you’re not welcome.”"

Kindly point to these specific guilty classes rather than quite literally accusing every person who participates in these of ageism, racism, and homophobia please.

Seriously, I hate how people generalize like that and are applauded for it... I know of few communities that are more supportive and friendly than these types. Heck, there's plenty designed for older exercisers as well.

She looks like a nice woman and I don't think she's consciously aware of how many people she just threw under the bus, but let's stop lauding those who divide and label everyone else.

AngryLittleAlchemist said: Did you even read the article? It's an article about how high prices and marketing material sets up certain expectations for the participants. And how those expectations can make who shows up a different story. It is actually an interesting, decently written article. But I guess let's just cut out the parts that sound crazy with no context

Indeed. I fail to see what's so bad about the article that we need a thread addressing it and doomsday lines like "Democracy dies in darkness".

I'm almost 100% sure that Rol wasn't being serious, but the fact that people are actually defending Rol's joke as a rational, totally not-racist way of thinking is blowing my mind. 

That isn't what point is being made at all. I think you are misunderstanding. 

The point isn't that the people who take the classes are racist, the point is that the culture around these courses are dominated by a specific in-group, partially due to the marketing of these courses. This creates an environment where certain types of people feel like outsiders. It isn't the fault of the people taking the courses and it isn't really the fault of those running the courses. It is simply a way of calling attention to how this impacts the experience of those who aren't in that in-group.