A gym in South Korea has sparked a fiery debate online after it banned “aunties” and set criteria to distinguish them from elegant, well-mannered “ladies”. The gym, in Incheon in the north of the country, posted a “no aunties allowed” notice at its entrance on June 7 which said: “Only well-mannered and elegant ladies are allowed to enter.” The tag “aunties” refers to middle-aged women who are often associated with certain negative stereotypes.
It evokes notions of women who are freeloading, noisy and unfashionable. The gym owner told a South Korean TV channel that the notice was a reminder to “rogue customers” to restrain themselves. He said that so-called aunties would use washing machines in the locker room for one or two hours to do their laundry, causing the gym’s water bills to double.
They also stole supplies such as towels and soap, the owner added. He said that many young female customers were verbally harassed by aunties, mocking them with taunts such as: “You should be good at having children”. “These aunties come in and turn the gym into their own world, causing young people in their 20s and 30s to leave,” the owner said.
To prevent the loss of customers and rising costs, he was turning his gym into a “no aunties zone”. The owner listed eight criteria to distinguish so-called aunties from “ladies”. These included people who like to take advantage of others, regardless of their age and take seats reserved for pregnant women .