The Gym, As a Social Scene Essay

Today’s society is based off an image seen on a magazine cover, body building TV shows, and social media post. Men and women have this misconception on how we should look a certain way when really we should just try and impress ourselves. They say “practice makes perfect” which just shows it doesn’t come over night, so in order to be better we have to work at what we want.

Upon arrival, I estimated about 15-20 personal scattered throughout the room on various body equipment. I noticed that I was the youngest person there; everyone else (by the looks) was ranging from late 20’s to early 50’s. The first significant aspect that I always realize is that there are more males than females, typically a 4:1 ratio. The diversity of race/ethnicity was noticeable but not really a concern towards the atmosphere of the gym. Before I started the observations I did run on the treadmill so that the gym visit wasn’t a total waste. Afterwards, my observation was done in the corner with the mats, while I stretched for twenty-five minutes.

Advertising plays a huge role in why people buy what they buy. This paper will discuss the different techniques used by brands in order to appeal to the intended group they are targeting. Some brands try to appeal to the most amount of people possible. However, some brands have a specific niche of people they try to appeal to. McDonalds is an example of a brand that tries to appeal to everyone. It has a general message that everyone can get behind, and they market it correctly. This is why they are one of the biggest brands in existence. However, Gymshark is a brand that tries to appeal to a specific niche of people. Their goal is to be the next Nike. They try to appeal to athletic people, who workout very often. Their products are similar to Nike, but they are specifically

I developed a character to be a representative of the main audience for my essay by taking the characteristics of individuals observed in McComas’ weight room and combining them into one persona. Based off of this, the persona is a male Virginia Tech college student who is familiar with the weight room and the concepts of body building. He is in good physical shape, and wears typical gym clothing, such as gym shorts, sweatpants, t-shirts, or wife-beaters. He has long-term experience with the majority of the weight and machines found in McComas’ weight room, and falls into the category of “serious lifters,” rather than just an occasional gym-goer. He is very perseverant in his work out regiment, and has a focused mindset.

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.

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

The Black female student-athlete body is a topic of great interest with little research in athletic administration. In explorations of women and how they view their bodies, and the bodies of others, based on visual frames in the media and advertising, the research either inaccurately represents Black females, or fails to include their unique experiences into the discussion. Meager research on Black female student-athletes creates a problem when trying to draw accurate conclusions. This paper explores the sexualized visual framing of Black female athletes, how they are invisible and hyper visible, and the knowledge gap that exists regarding Black female student- athletes unique experiences. (Cranmer, Harris, & Lancaster, 2006; Mowatt, French,

My assignment is to write a critique paper on the facility named “Planet Fitness”. Planet Fitness is a gym that labels itself rather as a “fitness club” that aspires people of all ages, weights and heights to come and hit the gym. Planet Fitness promises a judgement free environment, allowing for even your most introvert and shy gym goers to enjoy their workout without feeling self-conscious because of other gym attendee’s opinions. On the workout floor, their facilities are equipped with mostly cardio machines, with some weight machines and an abdominal exercise area. Within the locker rooms, they come well equipped for serving mass amounts of gym goers at a time. The locker rooms include showers, sinks, and toilets, urinals in the male locker

It all started on June 2014, I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I was underweight and was always out of breath. I ran like a turtle. At that time, I weighed only 115 pounds. I wanted to make a change for the better, wanting a better lifestyle. So I decided to sign up for the gym. That day changed my life forever. The gym made me fit, healthier, but most importantly it made me a better person which is who I am today.

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

This study reveals much about the attitudes that persist in society today regarding sport and gender. Early on, sport was created to serve men, evolving as a celebration of maleness, valuing strength, power, and competition. It idealized, promoted, and rewarded successful, elite athletes, established “the dream” as a professional career in sports, and viewed mass participation in sport as a tool to weed out the weak (Hill, 1993). In contrast, women’s sports originated to “address the expressed need for healthful exercise” (Huckaby, 1994). Unlike the competitive warrior mode

In today’s busy world, it can be hard to find the time to even think about one’s fitness, let alone actually do anything to maintain it. The average person has school, work, family, pets, and many more distractions in their life to ensure their fitness is left on the backburner. However, when the thought of exercise does eventually enter their mind, the thought that often comes forefront is that of the gym. The concept of a gym is simple, populate a building with the necessary equipment for a variety of physical activities, attracting people who want to get that perfect body or even just get back in shape. However, many people who have never frequented a gym often come up with a plethora of reasons not to go.

As I got an invitation to go to open gym with my friends, my main thoughts were, “I hope I can get some new skills tonight.” Little did I know, my thoughts about four hours later would be, “I have never been so upset, angry, or disappointed in my life.” As I walked into the cold, noisy gym, I was prepared to achieve my round off back handspring back tuck. I assured myself that I would be able to do it successfully. I wished that the ground was as soft and comforting as the dark trampoline with orange and blue bumpers. Seeing girls doing back walkovers on the thin, beige, four- inch beam, swinging their bodies around the slippery, uneven bars, and flipping themselves into the sky blue, squishy mat made me tell myself, “If they can do that,

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’.

Social lives start and finish with leisure activity. Leisure activity starts social lives because it generates the time that can be spent to engage in recreational time or leisure time. Furthermore, an individual’s activity does not have to be a group activity it can be a solo activity because when the individual is not with friends or families the activity that their doing will be because of a certain socio-cultural factor. Therefore, an individual will workout because of the gender identity and the double bind of masculinity. The reason for this is because most men will workout to change their appearance to become more masculine and powerful but are not suppose to care about their appearance.