GYM & GENDER

well... it's been a while since I was a member of a gym..but what immedialtely sprung to my mind was infact the changing rooms.. Not that I have been into the men's but the ladies rooms seemed to have all the "trimmings", mirrors a plenty, hair dryers, irons... all probabably in the name of women wanting to make themselves presentable once they finished with their routine. 

Of course these amenities are very handy, but one could argue their presence just perpetuates a stereotype of women and their looks.

The whole idea of a gym as such is already an interesting concept.. a temple of health, or a temple of opression, where men and women are entering to conform to body norms they feel they must adhere to. Furthermore interesting I think how so many people flog to gyms initially, but then drop out. More men or women dropping out... more men than women joining or vice versa.. motives for joining., etc. Correlation between attendence of classes/use of free weights/machines and gender,etc. I'm pretty sure that women are mostly driven by the idea of weightloss and body image issues thus prefering particular machines that are targeting perceived problem zones.

I think there's a plethora of issues to look at... Let us know how you get on.. very interesting topic indeed!

 

......  frosch411 online   ......

Somos una gente
Hay tantísimas fronteras .. que dividen a la gente .. pero por cada frontera .. existe también un puente

I've got a few gyms that I can go to on campus. I went one time with my suitemate (a straight girl) and she went on the elliptical most of the time. I was on my own doing weights.

Now, I go to the gym with the guys across the hall and it's nice because we all do the same thing. They lift weights and work on areas of the body that most girls wouldn't work on.

I personally consider myself to be somewhere in between on the gender spectrum. When I go to the gym though, I definitely present myself in a more masculine way. 

i work out on a regular basis, because our coach makes us, but my lifting partner and i are quite different in how we work out. she doesn't have the upper body strength that i have, and doesn't really build it that well, no matter how much she works on it.  so she also does a lot of treadmill and just running. i prefer free weights and squats. it might just be that she prefers to slim down, while i like to buff up and i like people to be able to tell that i've been working out i guess. she's really feminine, and i'm not really masculine either, but i like being built. biceps and abs are my favs :)

I just started going to the gym I mainly feel self-conscious cuz i'm a pussy right now and can't lift worth shit, but. besides that, i ID as genderqueer, but since I know appearancewise i'm female, i use the women's locker rooms. I wear basketball shorts and tank tops/t shirts to the gym. I (try to) do weights as well as the elliptical. I don't think having irons and hair dryers in the locker room perpetuates any kind of stereotype; many people go to the gym before work or on lunch hours, so if they shove their clothes in a locker they may need to run an iron over them, or after showering, they'll wanna dry their hair so it won't drip down their shirt at work. 

 

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I dangled my participle in her fragment and stretched it into a run-on.

http://ichasethedevil.blogspot.com

krscat77 yes men seem more at ease,while women are sort of tense,being a fitness trng i have a easier time with guys during sessions,i am respectful wit the ladies,but self esteem is so low they act like i am smacken em down,it really is sad peace out kc

Men and women use the gym differently. The gym I go to has two floors.There are mainly cardio machines on the first floor and weight training machines on the second. Both men and women use treadmills but other than that women are on the first floor doing cardio exercises and men are on the second floor doing weight training and watching women from upstairs.There is this exercise machine you lay face downwards and lift weight weight with your legs. I personally don't use that machine because you can be sure all men will be watching your ass from upstairs. If you go upstairs it is even more fun.You get funny looks from men. They look at you like oxen look at trains passing by. What is this chick doing in a rooster coop kinda thing!

 

 

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"I believe that I will be with one person for the rest of my life, but that person will be a woman." Luce-Imagine Me&You

I joined a gym twice and dropped out twice. I haven't got much motivation and it gets boring! Most equipment I used were for the legs though I loved the rowboat machine.

 

I go to my school gym...but decided not to go anymore....last semester, I nearly fell off my treadmill, sprinting at full speed when the girl in front of me decided to "stretch"...and offcourse the perv i am stared and the last bend got myself nearly killed...thank G  i had a good reflex (ninja style) and was able to grip onto the bar on the side. <_<

 

 

Your mind can make you or break you

This is based purely on my subjective, unscientific experience, but I have to agree with Wondergirrl that women do more cardio. Some guys (especially the bodybuilders) don't do any cardio, I assume because no one can see your heart / lung capacity. Also, often they will tell you they think it is "boring".

Men seem to favor free weights more. The machines are more or less evenly split but it always seems that there are a lot more guys doing free weights.

Women make more use of apparatus like balls and balance boards.

Fitness classes (it almost doesn't depend on the type) tend to be mostly women. Men don't seem to enjoy group exercise as much.