(Pictured is the main space of the Devos Fieldhouse wieght room. Here athletes and students alike hone their craft through weight training and metabolic conditioning. Towards the back right corner is where the yoga/pilates room is. Here primarily older women participate in their respective workout programs.)
Summary/Analysis
Working out. A common activity practiced all over the world, especially on college campuses. This post is not aimed to define what actually constitutes exercise. Rather, who predominantly is involved in it, or even more interesting, who isn’t, and why? Being an athlete, it is common knowledge how to operate basic machines, equipment, and free weights in the weight room here at Hope. However, I have never thought how intimidating and exclusive a weight room
could be, even at Hope College.
Thursday, February 15th I decided to go to the Devos weight room (like I would any other day to exercise) to begin my analysis. I intended to go at a more popular time so that I could visually, audibly, and nasally conduct the most thorough analysis of a significant sample size. Going in, I knew I could expect to see a greater preponderance of males over females just due to my implicit biases. However, much to my surprise I was greeted with the Women’s lacrosse team beginning their workout at 3:15pm. As I ventured deeper throughout the space, I noticed the bars were racked at a certain height (on the squat and bench racks) uniformly. I asked the attendant at the front desk if this was by chance and they informed me that throughout the day when it is least busy the attendants will re-rack all the bars and weights to their “standard position.” Interestingly enough, for being six feet tall, I could only un-rack the bar if I were standing on my tippy toes. Based on our genetic make up males have a tendency to be taller than females. And if a six foot athletic male is barely able to un-rack the bar onto his back, then how are women (who are generally shorter than men) or those with disabilities expected to do so.
Towards the back right wall of the space I noticed a separate room. I had been in it before but almost always saw it being used for pilates/yoga with classes almost always consisting of females. Today was no different. Women college aged to elderly were doing their exercises in a little room about 1/4 the size of the rest of the space. I think that the lack of participation of women in the weight room could be related to the notion that men are more physically fit and masculine and lifting weights is not necessarily a feminine task. As we read in “Night to his Day,” Lorber claims that this is
(The pilates/yoga room where predominantly women go to exercise) the result of the social construction of gender even though we know men are more apt to muscle hypertrophy.
Another factor that could explain the persisting lack of female participation in the weight room is that the only strength and conditioning coach is male. I can see how a female would feel uneasy by a big bulky guy telling them how to exercise for a sport he may not understand or have any experience with.
Friday, February 16th 3:00pm, the Devos weight room had a much different story to tell. Big huge football players with no necks slammed down weights on the floor so hard it shook the whole building. The thumping of rap music was constantly interrupted by the sound of metal slamming together and loud grunts. Everywhere big bodies glistened with sweat and the smell of unholy body odor mixed with chocolate protein powder permeated my nostrils. If this is how they were in the offseason, I wouldn’t want to see them during the fall. But the one thing stuck out to me the most was the lack of women in the space at that time. Could it have been that they got scared and left? Or was it the sign on the door that said the weight room was reserved for the football team? Again, I thought it was offseason.
Over by the free weight section of the space I saw two males who seemed to be more focussed on texting than working out. Every time I would glance over at them they would be on their phones and not exercising. Not too far away there were three females all working out separately. Each seemed to be grinding away and getting work done. This reminded me of an excerpt from John Stuart Mills “The Subjugation of Women” where he talks about the stigma of women not being able to focus on a prolonged task and how only men possess the ability to stay focussed (Mill 62). Interestingly enough, based on my analysis here in the weight room, this supports Mill’s rebuttal and disproves the stigma that is still held among society today.
What I found was the the Devos weight room appealed predominantly to males. However, I do not think that Hope College is at fault but instead our human genome. Males are generally more prone to lift weights and apt to build more muscle. Also, given that there are more male sports here at Hope, it would seem fit for there to be a greater preponderance of males in the weight room at a given time than females. There are anomalies though. The only problem is that it is frowned upon for a female to “bulk up” or look muscular. So many times I have heard guys talk about how unattractive it is for a girl to be defined or muscular. I think it is great. Males and females should be able to bulk up if they want to (naturally). I think that in todays society there is such a large following of the ideology that attempts to alter genetics. For instance, we have people getting sex changes, taking steroids to become unnaturally muscular, or hormones to alter their identity. What is different between social sciences and natural sciences is that social ideologies become self fulfilling prophecies. What we think about people or what we see as identity or gender or whatever actually becomes reality for some people. On the other side of the coin, the way we think about how the planets revolve around a star (and other scientific concepts) don’t actually change the way they move. I am a proponent of being natural and I believe God created men and women distinct and different and any attempt to alter that God given identity is an aberration of nature.
Discussion questions
How do you think the ratio of males to females would change in the weight room if more women strength and conditioning instructors were hired?
Do you think a males natural ability to put on more muscle than a women is grounds for them to be more accommodated in the weight room?
Assuming you have been to the Devos weight room, what other ways do you think the space excludes someone with a certain disability?
Works cited
Mill, John Stuart. The Subjugation of Women. Electric Book Co., 2001.
Lorber, Judith. “”Night to His Day” The Social Construction of Gender.” The Paradoxes of Gender (1994): n. pag. Print.
Challenging Bodies 
I think that you’re right in that it is not necessarily the weight room itself but rather the social constructions that make it a gendered space. From experience I would say that I felt most comfortable in the weight room when surrounded by all my female teammates. When lifting in smaller groups I have noted that I avoid the weight room if football players are in there and try to a avoid being there at the same time as male teams. I think a lot of this comes from the expected notion that men are the ones that should be in there and that women are inferior in the weight room setting. I do think hiring a female strength and conditioning coach would help a lot. It would normalize the idea of a woman in the weight room and create a safer feeling for those females who feel generally outnumbered and overpowered in this space.
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In regards to your second question, I think the presence of increased testosterone in men does play a role in the way the weight room is perceived as a male space. The common phrase that was used back at home when discussing a crowded weight room was “there is a lot of testosterone here”, implying that there were a lot of men in there and that the space was for men. Females are definitely welcome in all weight rooms and judging based on gender is something that is coming to the forefront in society, so females should feel welcomed in the weight room, regardless of the perceived gender of the room.
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To your second question, I do not think that males should be accommodated first and foremost in the weight just because they look or develop differently from females. Both males and females should be accommodated in the weight room and I do think the presence of a female strength and conditioning coach was hired. Just like Shay said, it would make the presence of females more normal and females would feel more welcome as well.
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In regards to your first question, I believe that the ratio of males to females would be more equal if more women strength instructors were hired. Since there isn’t any, I think that a lot of females are discouraged to go to the weight room which is why I usually see more men whenever I go there. Both genders should be accommodated so that would make females feel more welcomed and encouraged to go, without being uncomfortable.
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Your first question is a great one!! I do think that the space would feel more comfortable for women if there were more women strength and conditioning coach’s. I do also think that it would still feel like a non inclusive space because still, the majority of peers who occupy the space are male athletes. The space also excludes those with certain disabilities because most of the lifting equipment excludes supports. Also, if one were to need a wheelchair, the area is very tight to maneuver.
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