Gender and Other Intersecting Identities in Fitness Centres - Research Proposal Example

GENDER AND OTHER INTERSECTING IDENTITIES IN FITNESS CENTRES Introduction The world we live in has technologically advanced to high levels. The amount of physical activity involved in performing routine daily chores has been significantly reduced. Being physically inactive has led to a majority of the current population to be physically unfit. The amount of overweight people especially in developed countries has swelled in recent years. Consequently, fitness centres have been opened to help people regain physical fitness. (Johansson 1996 p1) Argues that gender affects the manner in which individuals work out, and the results pursued in fitness centres. Male gymnasts have different physical goals from female gymnasts. The main purpose of conducting this study is to examine the activities going on in fitness centres and ascertain how gender is reflected and performed in the gym. Females are adversely affected when performing specific activities because of their gender. Butler (1990, p.5) argues that one’s gender affects his/her performativity in the fitness centre. This study emphasizes that women are subjected to the idea that they are weaker and cannot outdo their male counterparts in fitness centres. Salvatore and Melleck (2010, p.1) points out that women avoid some exercises in the gym because they are with men. The study specifies that weight lifting is beneficial to women, but they opt not to do it since ladies consider it to be a male exercise. Both of these studies reveal that members of both genders relate differently in fitness centres. The research will examine how gender is constructed, represented and performed in fitness centres. Methodology The main reason for choosing this field is because of the increasing number of gender-related differences in fitness centres. The information created by this activity will help people better understand how gender affects activities aimed at gaining physical health. This research will involve taking photographs that will reveal the gender-related issues in fitness centres. The photographs taken will then be analyzed and described to draw the gender issue that they represent. For matters of transparency, every person whose photograph was taken was consulted first. All information regarding the purpose of the study and privacy was revealed to those people. Transparency was accounted for to ensure that privacy and individual rights were violated. The main reason for using photos is that they offer rich graphical information that can be quickly. The photos featured the Falmer Sporting Complex fitness centre. Main body Picture1 Members of the female gender prefer doing different types of exercises from males. Salvatore and Melleck (2010 p1) reveals that women do prefer aerobic exercises to weight lifting exercises. The main reason for this is because ladies have different physical objectives from men. The women in this photograph are jogging on treadmills. Women have specialized exercises that fulfill particular female goals. For example, a pelvic floor exercise which is mostly beneficial to ladies. Pelvic floor exercises are mainly used to strengthen their pelvic area after pregnancy. This a major contributing factor for most women choosing to do pelvic exercises in fitness centres. Most women enroll in fitness centres to improve their physical appearance. They do exercises that could improve their skin texture and body shapes. Women’s body structure is adopted to gain weight easily. Most of the people that visit fitness centres with the aim of reducing weight are women. To achieve this goal women have selected specific exercises that enable them lose weight. Jogging on the treadmill is one of the most popular activities that women do to reduce their weight. Dumbbell swing is another common practice that ladies do to lose weight. The differing fitness goals between genders affect the choice of exercises performed in fitness centres (Salvatore and Melleck, 2010). Picture 2 Alternatively the choice of male exercises differs from that of women. The photograph above shows the main training area. This section usually contains heavy training weights. While women mostly prefer activities that help them lose weight, men, on the other hand, prefer exercises that help them gain weight. Though there are a number of men who go to fitness centres, most men who visit fitness centres aim to gain weight. This objective is achieved by lifting heavy weights that induce the body to build muscles. The masculinity nature of men is the main reason as to why men prefer to build muscles. This picture shows a muscular man exercising his thigh muscles with extremely heavy weight. The male gender is by the size of muscles in fitness centres. The image reveals the desire that men have to grow big muscles. Brown and Graham (2008 p1) shows that building muscles significantly contributed to body satisfaction among men. Men increase the amount of weight they lift in order to build large muscles. Male gym beginners start off by lifting moderate weights but as time goes by they increase the amount of weight they lift to increase the size of their muscles (Brown and Graham, 2008). Picture 3 Picture 3 above shows the changing rooms for both boys and girls. The main reason people regularly go to the gym may differ between genders but what remains similar to both male and female is that they both go to gym to look good. Health might be the most important reason as to why people work out but sexuality is also a major factor as to why people perform physical exercises. Sexuality in fitness centres is demonstrated by will to look good and acceptable to members of the opposite gender. However, this factor changes in the case of gay man and lesbian. Brown and Graham (2008 p1) argue that an individual’s sexual orientation has an impact on the type and intensity of exercises one does. According to this study, heterosexual men prefer heavy and high-intensity exercises while homosexual men tend to prefer lighter exercises. Straight women prefer doing light weight lifting and a lot of aerobic exercises while some lesbians prefer heavy weight lifting and little aerobic exercises (Brown and Graham, 2008). Picture 4 This photograph shows a notice that requires people to remove shoes before stepping on treadmills. Fitness facilities do get dirty because of sweat from physical exhaustion and the high number of visitors. Ladies usually like to be clean, unlike most men who pay little attention to cleanliness. Cleanliness in the gym shows the feminine of women in the gym. Girls project different aspects of feminism in fitness centres. Most women go to gym to work their bodies into feminine acceptable shapes. The primary cause for taking this picture is to show how females strive to get feminine looks in the fitness centre. Malign (2010 p3) points out those most modern women do exercise to slim up and have feminine bodies. This study also emphasizes that obesity in developed countries has reached high levels. Obesity is the main reason as to why most women go to fitness centres. Many gym facilities have been built to serve the primary function of reducing obesity among people in developed countries. Feminism significantly affects how women exercise in fitness centres. Women do not necessarily exercise to compete with their peers. Instead, they exercise with the main goal of having a healthy life and good looking bodies. Cleanliness is in fitness centres that accommodate women (Malign, 2010). Picture 5 The picture above shows the men weight training section of the fitness centre. This section contains heavy weights that are usually used by men. Masculinity is the main reason for the existence of gyms. Initially, before gyms started to serve the function of helping people lose weight, people majorly used to go to fitness centres to build muscles. Masculinity dictates the level of satisfaction an individual gets from working out in fitness centres. Brown and Graham (2008) argue that most men visit fitness centres to build muscles so as to satisfy their masculinity desires. Most if not all men want to look big and muscular. This the driving force that provides motivation to men to regularly work out in fitness centres. However, professional athletes like basketball and football players work out to improve their performance in sport. There is a tendency among men with big muscles to flex and show off their muscles as shown in the picture. Having a big body with big muscles is the main way that masculinity is in fitness centres. Competition is also a major component of masculinity. Most men have that urge to dominate their gym mates. On most occasions, men look to carry heavier weights or perform more intense exercises that their peers. This behaviour is because of the masculinity nature of men (Brown and Graham, 2008). Picture 6 This photo shows the front door to the training facility that I analyzed. Falmer Sports Complex is accessible by members of the public. Normally people from different races train at this fitness centre. Fitness objective might vary according to a person’s cultural background. Typical African men aim to have fairly large muscles. The Caucasian men seek to have a well-defined body. Alternatively, Asians are more concerned with health and personal protection. Harrison, Belcher and Lee (1999) argue that sporting and physical activity choices are by an individual’s race and cultural background. However, race and cultural background only affect activities in fitness centres to a limited extent. Africans believe in their culture that an individual should be strong in order to live a life. Most Africans regularly train with the main aim of becoming more powerful. Caucasians or whites mostly workout to improve their physical appearance and to enjoy healthy lives. A fair portion of Caucasian men who train at this fitness centre aim to have good looking bodies. People from an Asian background commonly exercise to improve their ability and body health. Asian fitness centres provide Karate and Kung-fu classes as a form of self-protection and well being. Being able to carry heavy weights is the essence of physical activities for Africans. Having a good looking body is the justification for working out among white people while for it is to protect themselves (Harrison, Belcher and Lee 1999). Picture 7 The picture above shows the resting area. This room is set apart for gymnasts to relax after work out sessions in the fitness centres. Two automated vending machines can be in the background of the photograph. The vending machines are with the company logo of a company that manufactures mass gaining supplements. These mass gaining supplements contain optimized proteins and vitamins to help gymnasts build muscle with a shorter period than the usual time frame. Buford et al. (2007) suggests that mass gaining supplements contain the nutritional requirements necessary for gymnasts to build muscles in shorter periods. Mostly, it is men that use these mass gaining supplements to build muscles quickly. Professional athletes competing in physically demanding sports like American Football and Rugby regularly use these supplements. These products help them attain the physical requirements to be competitive in their sport. Women do not usually use mass gaining supplements. Women who use these products are few. Females that use mass gaining supplements are the few that participate in male dominated sports like rugby, football, and weightlifting. Most women resort to maintaining appropriate diets since their main aim is to lose weight or maintain healthy bodies. The green notice board next to the vending machine indicates the training schedules for this fitness centre (Buford et al. 2007). There are both collective exercises and personal workout sessions. Ladies usually train in a group and get directed by a gym instructor. Exercises done in groups are mostly aerobics. Men like to train alone or in pairs. Those men who train in pairs usually do that to motivate and psych up each other so as to ensure maximum performance during workout sessions. Picture 8 This picture shows the door to a changing room. The symbol on the door indicates that this changing room is accessible to people with disability. Not all fitness centres are wheelchair accessible. Rimmer et al. (2004) suggests that disabled people are sometimes unable to access gym facilities since these facilities are not wheelchair accessible. Disabled people are mostly recommended by their to exercise so as to regain strength and deal with stress and other emotional issues. This gym facility is with training equipments. The fitness centre even has exercise equipment modified for disabled people. Disabled people can use some of the exercising tools shown in picture 2. Disabled people face a number of challenges when using gym facilities. Most fitness centres have a gym instructor who helps disabled people exercise correctly. Having enough space to move around easily in the gym is one of the primary challenges faced by disabled people. Some training facilities do not have enough space for wheelchairs to move around; this negatively affects the quality of exercise that disabled people have (Rimmer et al. 2004). Conclusion From the analysis conducted in this paper, differences can be noted on how members of both genders handle themselves in the fitness centre space. Various intersecting factors like race and disability also influence the way individuals project themselves in gym facilities. As explained earlier, men and women have differing goals for performing physical exercises. Most women go to fitness centres with the primary goal of having a good body and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The female gender is constructed and represented around this goal. However, most men go to fitness centres with the main objective of building muscles and attaining a body. The male gender revolves around this purpose in the space of fitness centres. There are also differences between the physical ambitions of people from different races. Asians, Africans, and Caucasians have different fitness goals as dictated by their cultural background. However, racial influences on fitness goals are minimal. All the photos analyzed reflect how gender and other intersecting identities are created and performed in the fitness centre space (Malin, 2010). Reference list Brown, J., & Graham, D. (2008). Body satisfaction in gym-active males: An exploration of sexuality, gender, and narcissism. Sex Roles, 59(1-2), 94-106. Buford, T. W., Kreider, R. B., Stout, J. R., Greenwood, M., Campbell, B., Spano, M., ... & Antonio, J. (2007). Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 4(6), 6. Butler, J. (1990). Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Gender trouble, 1-25. Harrison, L., Lee, A. M., & Belcher, D. (1999). Race and gender differences in sport participation as a function of self-schema. Journal of sport & social issues, 23(3), 287-307. Hill, J. O., Wyatt, H. R., & Peters, J. C. (2012). Energy balance and obesity. Circulation, 126(1), 126-132. Johansson, T. (1996). 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The medias influence on body image disturbance and eating disorders: Weve reviled them, now can we rehabilitate them? Journal of social issues, 55(2), 339-353. Read More