I absolutely love working out. Whether you blame the controversial antics of Howard Stern or the Barbie doll-like figure of Jessica Simpson, the surreal bodies of the “Real World” or the fresh faces of the OC, one thing is for certain in our culture: the obsessive-compulsive work-out fiend attitude is on the rise, and one new Madison fitness club designed exclusively for men is already causing a controversy.

State Representative Terese Berceau, D-Madison, is concerned that Cuts Fitness for Men, a club designed to fulfill a potential niche market in the uber-competitive fitness club industry, could be setting back equal rights for women. Berceau recently told the Wisconsin State Journal, “Creating all-male clubs is a step backward.”

“Exclusivity is the reason why golf clubs were men only,” Berceau complained. “The problem in the past was that facilities were separate but unequal. Where do we draw the line when we cater to the male market, which has more money to spend on a lot of these things.”

So, gender-exclusive clubs are setting back equal rights for women? That’s funny because I don’t ever remember Terese Berceau complaining about the Curves for Women fitness club coming to Madison, one of the fastest growing retail chains in the world with over 8,000 locations. Berceau seems to think that the new male-only fitness club is somehow going to lead us back to the times when all men wanted was a housewife, barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, serving him a turkey pot pie, graciously awaiting her husband’s call to grab him another cold one from the fridge and complain that his food isn’t cooked right. Oh yes, and not to mention she can’t vote either. Of course, in the eyes of a very small percentage of women such as Berceau, anyone with a penis is a woman-hating, beer-guzzling, testosterone-induced prick whose only goal is to keep women below the glass ceiling.

A recent poll by the Siena College Research Institute found that 81 percent of people in America would vote for a woman president. That is, of course, the highest position in the entire free world, but Berceau would have you believe that an all-male fitness club may crush that attitude. But I’m also wondering what Berceau would say about that the fact that more women than men attend college and get better grades on average. Oh yeah, and then there’s the fact that the leading candidate for President in 2008 is Hillary Clinton, and as far as I know, she’s a woman.

One recent column by Maureen Dowd of the New York Times titled “Where’s the Road Beef?” went on about how men are a lot like Jose Canseco, who writes in his new book that he enjoys “Slump Busters.” A slump buster is apparently when a man goes out to try to have sex with the ugliest, fattest girl he can find, in order to break a hitting dry spell in baseball. Dowd, of course, insinuates that all men are like Canseco, and refers to men as “fatheads.”

Imagine for a second a man making this statement on national TV: “Of course she can’t figure it out. She’s a woman!” No man would ever make this statement in good conscious lest he be called a sexist pig and Loraine Bobbit-ed faster than you can say “penis” (oops, sorry Women’s Studies Department). But substitute the male in that statement, saying “Of course he can’t figure it out, he’s a guy,” and it instantly becomes as acceptable as … well, an episode of King of Queens or Everybody Loves Raymond or The Simpsons, where the male characters are portrayed as dumb, incompetent dads far inferior to their female counterparts.

Let’s make this clear once and for all. It’s completely unfair for men to view all women as being a bunch of dumb, blonde bimbos like Paris Hilton just like it’s unfair for women to view all men as incompetent, wife-beating drunks like Tommy Lee. I know that most guys, including myself, would never think of treating a woman badly and view relationships with them on an equal playing field. We don’t all want to date secretaries, and we’re not all emotionless animals, too simple minded to understand the complexities of a relationship.

So to all the men and women who are tired of the ’50s-and ’60s-type mentality stagnant in the stereotypical, hate-filled minds of the male and female-extremists, I say let’s ignore them and move on with our lives.

Casey Hoff ([email protected]) is a UW student and the host of “New Ground with Casey Hoff,” live Monday through Friday, 9-11 a.m., on Talk Radio 1670 WTDY.