The Social and Cultural Reasons Why Women Still Shy Away from Weights in 2018 Kiara Lowery Director: Leslee Funderburk Ph.D, RD, CSSD, CSCS
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ABSTRACT Where Are The Ladies: The Social and Cultural Reasons Why Women Still Shy Away From Weights in 2018 Kiara Lowery Director: LesLee Funderburk Ph.D, RD, CSSD, CSCS This study sought to determine gym usage, specifically the use of weight training equipment and experience, sociocultural factors that have impacted fitness practices, ideas of femininity and muscularity, and any specific reasons that kept women from weight training during the era of fourth wave feminism and “strong is the new sexy”. Participants included female college students and female members of a private, strength- athlete focused gym. Participants were recruited via flyers posted in a private gym, in various buildings on Baylor University’s campus, through Canvas notifications posted by professors of the principal investigator, and Facebook. Three hundred and sixteen surveys were included in this study and responses were interpreted with Stata 15.1 Statistical Software and Qualtrics to determine significance with the assistance of Dr. Kevin Dougherty. Responses revealed that the gym and various fitness spaces are microcosms of how traditional feminine ideals influence women’s fitness practices. APPROVED BY DIRECTOR OF HONORS THESIS: ______________________________________________________ Dr. LesLee Funderburk, Family and Consumer Sciences, Nutrition Sciences APPROVED BY THE HONORS PROGRAM: __________________________________________________________________ Dr. Elizabeth Corey, Director DATE: ______________ WHERE ARE THE LADIES?: THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL REASONS WHY WOMEN STILL SHY AWAY FROM WEIGHTS IN 2018 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Baylor University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Honors Program By Kiara Lowery Waco, Texas May 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements . iii Dedication . iv Introduction . 1 Background . 3 Chapter One: The Boom of Women in Strength Sports . 7 Chapter Two: How Gender Roles Influence Fitness Goals and Are They Changing . 12 Chapter Three: Methods . 15 Chapter Four: Results . 17 Chapter Five: Discussion . 25 Chapter Six: Conclusion . 28 Appendix: Survey Administered to Participants . 30 Bibliography . 37 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research endeavor would not have been possible without the guidance of my thesis advisor, Dr. LesLee Funderburk. With her experience in sports nutrition, writing training protocols, the effects of exercise on body weight and composition and much more I knew she would make important contributions to my work. I am beyond thankful for her insightful edits and ideas that ultimately shaped this project into everything I hoped it would be. I would also like to thank the other two members of my defense committee, Dr. Stanley Wilfong and Dr. Jay Yoo. The diverse backgrounds they both offer helped me to realize how interdisciplinary my research question is. I hope this project encourages more research into how gender roles influence other aspects of our lives. He may not know how big of an impact he’s made in a lecture hall of hundreds of students, but my Introduction to Sociology teacher Dr. Kevin Doughtery helped me believe this once daunting project was possible. His teachings gave me something to model this project after and even helped me decide on a name for it. I also have him to thank for assisting me in statistically analyzing my data. iii DEDICATION To Olivia, my father and step-father, and Michael, my love, I dedicate this project. Olivia, your encouragement, willing to listen to my plans, and support in my powerlifting endeavors gave me what I needed to finally start this project. Daddy and Dad, thank you for raising me up to believe that I can accomplish any strength goals, not in spite of, but because of my gender, and as you love to remind me, daddy, because of my genes. Daddy, some of my most vivid childhood memories are of you I lifting at Bally’s together. Both of your backgrounds in powerlifting, football, and track and field are part of the reason I am where I am today. Starting me early in lifting weights as an eleven-year-old and taking my goals seriously helped to improve my self-esteem and widen my horizons for what it means to be a woman. Michael, this project required more creativity and vision than I had myself. If not for the in-depth conversations we had about the problems in the fitness industry and the shady schemes of some social media influencers, this project would not be this large in scope. There were many times I demanded hours of silence, escaped to campus, or cancelled social activities in order to work on this project. Thank you for your patience and making sure I prioritized my school work. Above that, thank you for investing your money, time, and effort into helping me become a competitive powerlifter and setting goals for me that are beyond my wildest dreams. Because of you I refuse to settle for nothing less than the world. iv INTRODUCTION My fathers, biological and step-father, made weight training and the pursuit of strength a part of my life. There weren’t any physical limitations placed on me because of my gender; if anything, they always expected more. Throwing shot-put and discus for my middle and high school track and field team fueled my obsession with testing my body’s physical strength. Once I graduated high school and went on to college, I thought that was the end of lifting heavy weights for me. I believed that the body I had built no longer matched my changing fitness and physique goals. All my life I struggled with achieving my “goal weight” and always perceived my body as being bigger than it was. I chose clothing that was too big for me to hide the imperfections I saw. The summer between my sophomore and junior year of college, I rededicated my life to fitness and was determined to lose weight. I lifted weights five to six times a week with moderate weight for high reps and sets and ran almost daily. Over the course of a few months of changing my eating habits and being consistent in the gym I lost twenty pounds. I thought I had reached my prime in the fitness area of my life. Enter my current boyfriend who I started dating between the fall and spring semesters of my junior year. He had undergone a weight loss journey of his own but had found his home in competing in Strongman competitions. On our first date, which was at the gym he trained at, he taught me how to log press and pick up stones. He saw a raw strength in me that I did not yet see in myself, so now I had three men in my life encouraging me, expecting me even, to lift heavy weights. In high school I wanted to compete in powerlifting meets like my step dad, but I never did. Now I had someone so intimately 1 involved in my life to help me venture out and pursue my dreams. In May 2018 I competed in a Strongman meet. In September 2018, I competed in a powerlifting meet and fell in love. In January 2019 I did it again. In June 2019 I am scheduled to compete in a national meet and have been invited to compete again in October at the Stateline Showdown, whose meet director is Chakera Ingram, an all-time world record holder in two different weight classes. This is my story because those that came before me were athletes. This is my story because the men in my life do not think femininity conflicts with strength. But what do the lives of other women look like because they are encouraged to stick to cardio to achieve a slightly toned, slim-waisted physique? Men are supposed to be the ones with the muscles, right? What would society look like if these gender norms did not exist and how does something as trivial as differences in fitness goals between men and women reveal the way people think? How did these differences arise? 2 BACKGROUND The purpose of this study is to survey women concerning the usage of the free weight area in two gyms in Waco, TX. The survey questions assessed weight training experience, societal and cultural factors that have impacted fitness practices, ideas of femininity and muscularity, and any specific reasons that keep participants from lifting weights in the era of fourth wave feminism and “strong is the new sexy” (Rampton). There are many studies stating the benefits women experience from weight/resistance training. In a summary of evidence from randomized controlled trials that sought to determine whether strength training influenced anxiety, chronic pain, cognition, depression, self-esteem, and sleep published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, it was found that only 27% of women aged 18-24 reported some type of muscle-strengthening activity compared with 45% of men of the same age (O’Connor et al.). For both sexes, this percentage diminishes with age which is problematic because sarcopenia, “the loss of skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength, and impairment of functional status”, is a phenomenon seen in aging adults (Fuggle et al.). Ways to decrease the severity of sarcopenia and retain quality of life include resistance training as well as increasing protein intake and vitamin D supplementation (Fuggle et al.). There is also evidence of increased bone density with resistance training which can combat osteoporosis especially in females (Layne and Nelson). Other health related outcomes include improved glycemic control, decreased insulin resistance, lower blood pressure, and reduction of symptoms of depression and mental fatigue (O’Connor et al.). 3 Unfortunately, many women are still intimidated or reluctant to lift weights in a traditional gym environment because they do not have the knowledge to lift safely, believe they will become bulky, or do not think weight lifting will help them achieve their fitness goals (Salvatore and Marecek).