Gender Breakdown Of The Gyms In Kabul

This general awareness resulted in about 17% of the U.S. population becoming more enthusiastically committed to fitness activities, with 63% recognizing the importance of fitness activities and 25% of whom actually attending health fitness clubs. Also, a recent survey showed that 37% of exercisers were motivated by the desire to control weight. Consciousness about body image and the desire to reduce stress and meet new people also had an impact on the health club phenomenon.

In “Fitness Culture: A Growing Trend in America” Sheila McClain succinctly describes the rapid growth of exercise as a part of American culture. McClain states that “Fitness club membership, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), jumped from 20 million in 1991 to over 40 million in 2006” (418). The author uses this statistic, in quick succession with many others, to emphasize the empirical evidence supporting her claim; fitness culture is growing. McClain then begins by emphasizing many of the points with which we are already familiar, summarily: diet and exercise lead to longevity and health. She then piques curiosity in her question that states that everyone knows why they should exercise, and then leads her readers to the

Every man want to be superior to their counterpart, that’s why men lift weights and workout, resulting in them being more muscular, and more “manly” then other men. They further believe they need money, and drive a tripped-out car to attract a hot girlfriend. In addition, they want to be more athletic than other men. Kimmel states, “They do it because they want to be positively evaluated by other men,” they want to be considered cool and athletic. “What men need is men’s approval.” In “How Is Men’s Conformity to Masculine Norms Related to Their Body Image? Masculinity and Muscularity Across Western Countries”, Calogero and Thompson state that, “Young men often view the attainment of a muscular body is indicative of having reached the status of being a man,” however after achieving this goal they are not satisfied and must set a new goal. Many body builders reach

Another observance that I made regarded the male and female distributions throughout the day at the UNC Asheville gym. During the morning there was a disproportionate amount of females, with an estimated 65% of the makeup of the gym being females with most using the cycling machines. However later in the day males were the most populous demographic in the gym, and by far the majority was occupied using the weight room or the weight machines. I propose that this may be due to the main motivation differing between males and females using the gym. Society tends to put more pressure on females to lose weight and be in shape, while there is more pressure on males to have large amounts of muscle and generally be larger, with less emphasis placed

On the other hand, the females seem to go to the gym just for the purpose of running and losing weight. It appears that the females’ mindset is that it doesn’t matter how skinny they are, they still think they need to lose weight. Our studies of this strange setting yielded more important information concerning the behavior of the humans and hopefully will lead to more effective studies in the future.

Results Thematically we see two factors influencing the participants motivation for exercise. The first, ‘The Way We Were’ exposes the foundation, upon which Helen’s drive to exercise is built. In this theme we follow her narrative of being overweight and watching her mother make poor choices when it came to health:

Within sport, as throughout society, gender differences exist. The socially constructed phenomenon of gender dictates a dichotomous system whereby females are feminine and males are masculine. Focusing on females specifically, society determines the feminine traits and roles ascribed to this gender. Being domesticated, slender, passive and heterosexual are a part of the desirable appearance that society has formed surrounding femininity (Wolf, 1991). On the other side of the dichotomy is the masculine realm that sport plays into. Sport is fuelled by muscle, power and aggressiveness, which are behaviours and images associated to masculinity. Sport therefore, defies all existing female gender ideals. It would be assumed that females have no place within this institution due to the gender clash. However, female athletes do exist, and many are very successful. For this to work, sport has established and reinforced the social constructions of gender that exist in society. Female athletes are viewed as inferior and are pushed into gender appropriate sports. Furthermore, they are often labeled as masculine until they can prove otherwise, and so great attempts are made to reassert femininity. The stigma associated to being masculine or homosexual for female athletes is so great that many have become irrationally fearful of this label. The sexualisation of the female body and overt displays of heterosexuality are used in

Age can most certainly stand in the way of ones motivation; younger groups of people cite that not having a workout partner keeps them exercising while the senior groups barrier was simply the lack of knowledge about how their bodies respond to certain exercises, as well as the health issues that come with growing older (Louw et al., 2012). Additionally, older adults are rarely met with successful stories of aging by the media, which establishes a stigma that the ability to retain health throughout ones lifespan is non-existent, and therefore the motivation to try is wasted (Louw et al., 2012). Race plays a part in the motivation of exercise; majority races are more likely to exercise for weight and stress management, as well a revitalization and enjoyment, while minority races tend to exercise to avoid health issues in the future or circumvent behavioral problems (Egli, land, Melton, & Czech, 2011). While the same motivational struggles when it comes to overall

Cultural identity and physical activity have changed a lot over time. This is due to some factors such as advances in technology and changes in media. All of these factors have contributed to the changes in physical activity.

Based on background information, a central hypothesis was developed that obesity is an ongoing, gendered and embodied cultural process that has harmful consequences for the obese individual (e.g. Harjunen, 2002&2003). The various social implications of obesity will be explored via interviews (with obese people or former obese people) conducted and the surveys taken of people in the Boston area.

This raises the question about gender difference and the concept of body image and prevalence of

Chalabaev, A., Sarrazin, P., Fontayne, P., Boiché, J., & Clément-Guillotin, C. (2013). The influence of sex stereotypes and gender roles on participation and performance in sport and exercise: Review and future directions. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14(2), 136-144.

Women are empowered, encouraged and even pressured into being involved in a sport or some type of fitness activities today; however, it hasn’t always been that way (Cahn 278). In the 1920s, also known as the “golden age” of sports, women and young girls faced obstacles such as rejection, gender discrimination, and stereotypes when showing interest in sports or fitness activities. One famous author named Susan Cahn, wrote a book called Coming on Strong: Gender and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Women’s Sports, and focuses on the decades between the 1920s and the 1960s. For most of the 19th century, females were accused of causing a great deal of danger to the moral and physical areas of masculinity. Through the research of multiple different aspects, such as media, appearance, and gender roles, Cahn puts together an idea and theme that athleticism is seen as a masculine trait because it was once constructed by society itself; which fortunately for the women, that idea can be changed. In the later centuries, Cahn writes about the progress of woman 's appearance in sports, however then describes the difference in respect, attention throughout media, opportunities and wages between men and women. Through both primary sources such as newspapers, interviews, and journals, as well as secondary sources like relevant literature, Cahn writes her book in a historical non-fiction genre. After reading Coming on Strong: Gender and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Women’s Sports by Susan

There are many existing literatures on women and weightlifting. This research will be focusing on how hegemonic masculinity has set ideas of gender roles and how these women challenge the social discourse that they face being a muscular or look ‘manly’.

Although, athletes are the role models the boys grow up playing sports but when they do not perform in an excellent or right way they are chided as girls in a away to help them perform better. The language that is in the media attributes and reinforces the dominant discourse that males are stronger than females. (Public research group, 2010). In addition, men are expected to have healthy strong bodies and simultaneously on the other hand isolate and seclude themselves from females as to not care how they look. Men that are obese are subjected through oppression as a result of the factor that they do not fit in the masculine stereotype of a muscle built body. Furthermore, young boys are taught this early and consequently reproduce this discourse to discriminate others in school that do not fit in to Western culture's ideology of masculinity. This discrimination of the obese instills a fear on the youth that to be fat is not ideal and is therefore seen in revulsion and hatred. Nevertheless, the discourse implies that genetics do not play a role and that every male can get this perfect body of masculinity in a sense. Therefore, a man would need to endure the journey for how ever long it takes to achieve this. In contrary, this is not the truth a man may go the gym everyday for a number of years and never achieve this form of masculinity because for their body type and genetics is impossible. Moreover, the stereotypes against overweight men at a first glance