Why do women from ethnic minorities and the LGBTQ community attend commercial gyms less frequently than white women?
Research Objectives:
1) To explore and understand the social constructs and factors which prevent women from all backgrounds to attend gyms, including culture, gender gap and intimidation from men.
2) To evaluate the economic profitability of setting up a women’s only gym in a major city within the UK.
3) To evaluate the demand for women’s only gyms within the UK.
4) To compare the financial viability of franchising a small gym vs commercial gym (e.g., Pure gym)
5) To assess whether women only sections in commercial gym’s fulfil the needs of women looking to get into exercise.
6) To assess the cultural/religious barriers which prevent women from exercising and methods to break them down. (education)
Research questions:
1) Why do women from ethnic minorities and the LGBTQ community attend commercial gyms less frequently than white women? -Qualitative
2) Do women make any conscious changes to their gym schedule, behaviour and outfit choices when attending mixed gendered gyms and why? – Qualitative
3) Is it financially viable to have a women’s only gym targeting ethnic minorities within large cities such as London/Manchester? -Quantitative
4) Would it be economically profitable for the owners of a women’s only gym to franchise across the UK? -Quantitative
Literature Review:
On a review that explores the effects of exercise and healthy eating in the prevention of illness, Robert and Barnard’s research has established that regular exercise is an integral part of preventing chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer (Robert and Barnard, 2005). In the United Kingdom, there are around 6.7 thousand fitness clubs with 9.7 million members, earning a total revenue of £1.9 billion (Statista, 2020). The current economic success portrays a promising demand for the gymnasium sector. However, Guthold et al (2017) research finds a global gap in the market. The study aimed to find whether there is a global trend in inadequate physical activity. This method was done by pooling data from 358 surveys in 168 countries, including 1.9 million participants. By analysing men’s and women’s participation in different areas of activity, part of their findings found that women train less than men, thus leaving significant space in the market on a global scale that awaits to be filled (Guthold et al, 2018). Another study conducted by the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) (2017) further supports the matter surrounding women training less regularly than men: 57 per cent of adult men train the recommended amount, compared to 49 per cent of women (CDC, 2017). According to Kale (2020), the increase in women being harassed or approached in gyms violates women’s right to exist in public spaces as they are made to feel uncomfortable (Kale, 2020). Her report files frequent amounts of shared stories; one told by Ellen, a 19-year-old student from Newcastle, repeatedly followed and watched by a man who would imitate and laugh at her doing squats from a distance. While exercising was a hobby of hers, Ellen now claims that this experience has made her lose interest and has altered her choices in gym clothing, despite it not stopping him from following Ellen (Kale, 2020).
A supporting study was conducted by the Sheffield fitness firm DNA Lean (2021) to explore 400 female participants’ experiences in the gym. The results concluded that three-quarters of those who participated felt uncomfortable in the gym, with 91% reporting that they had been stared at while exercising (Maciuca, 2021). Almost 50% of the participants shared that unsolicited and inappropriate comments were made toward them, with experiences of men taking photos of women. One participant had additionally claimed to have been followed by a car after leaving her gym, forcing her to cancel her membership (Maciuca, 2021). Women will adapt their performance to avoid harassers, according to Fileborn (2020), such as changing their training plan and skipping the weight area. Therefore, when women are led to believe that gyms are unfriendly environments, they are less likely to exercise (Kale, 2020). As a result, almost every participant who participated in DNA Lean’s study praised the idea of opening a women-only gym (Maciuca, 2020). However, an opposing argument made by broadcaster Janet Street Porter suggests that the only way to change a man’s behaviour is to remain in the same environment but report those who do not conform with what makes a person feel comfortable (Johnston, 2022). Colleen Nolan supported this statement by claiming that opening a women-only gym is sexist and only promotes a double standard for the equality women have fought so hard toward. The journalist stated that there should be a no-phone policy if women did not want photos taken of them. At the same time, Porter (2022) validated her statement in the quote, “You do not change men’s behaviour by running away from it” (Johnston, 2022). Porter and Nolan’s (2022) views against the idea for a safe zone for women suggest the notion that opening a women’s only gym is merely a temporary fix for the sake of women’s sanity and it, therefore, lacks success in long term solutions to change men’s behaviour, which in hand, could be more effective than running away from the problem.
Despite the proposals made by Porter and Nolan in encouraging women to complain so that gyms can implement stricter rules, evidence shows that they do not work. For example, Kate Ng (2020) wrote a report for the Telegraph on a member of the Gymbox chain. The woman had received an employee’s dismissive reply to a complaint explaining that a man at the same gym harassed her. The employee justified the man’s actions with “high testosterone levels” being high during exercise, meaning these experiences are expected (Ng, 2020). In addition, far more supportive evidence advocates that women feel less comfortable in mixed-gender gyms than in women-only gyms. For example, Willinger et al (2020) created a study that compared women’s attendance performance and membership length at women-only gyms and mixed-gender gyms for 12 months to find influences explaining both behaviours. Data was analysed from one female-only and eight mixed gender gyms across England, involving demographics, member visits and membership characteristics. The results found that women attending female-only gyms showed a higher membership length and attendance frequency than in mixed gyms. However, demographic and membership associated purposes only explained a small segment of the member’s influence, signifying a deeper motivation towards their preference such as being a part of a community of women’s training (Willinger et al, 2020). These findings have prompted me to investigate the relationship between gender and the fitness sector to see if women’s only gyms are lucrative.
Its Gym Not Jim
E Coen’s (2018) social science and medicine paper ‘Its gym, not Jim’ explored how physical activity is highly gendered and focused on how exercise embodies gender ideals, gender performance and gender relations (Coen et al., 2018). This paper ties into the gender roles theory in which men and women should fit their social roles within the context of the gym (Littlejohn et al., 2009). Expanding on the concepts of gender roles theory in which males and females ascribe to roles within a societal structure and tend to be judged against divergent expectations, gender body ideals have been tied to women’s limited engagement with lifting weights (Coen et al., 2018). This limited engagement with weightlifting has been called a glass ceiling on women’s strength (Dworkin,2001). In addition, the gym is seen as a hyper-masculine institution (Craig and Liberti, 2007) and can be an additional barrier for men and women (Pridgeon and Grogan, 2012). The types of exercise that both men and women conduct at gyms are highly affected by masculine and feminine ideals such as weightlifting being a male exercise and classes such as Pilates being female exercise (Coen et al., 2018). However, by focusing on elite women bodybuilders, the paper notes how feminine/masculine binaries are reconfigured as women lifting weights challenges the stereotypical norms of exercise (Coen et al., 2018).
E Cohen’s (2018) paper explores how social constructs have helped prevent women from attending gyms and the social constructs in place that limit them to one form of exercise and how deeply entrenched gender ideals and roles have affected the gym space. While the paper has limited LGBGTQ+ representation, it does note how they are equally affected in a hypermasculine environment while conducting not traditional male exercises such as circuits (Coen et al., 2018.) While conducting these exercises, a group of three homosexual men were victims of snide remarks as it seen as potentially out of the ordinary as they were doing what is traditionally seen as a female exercise (Coen et al., 2018).
Difference between tolerance and acceptance
L. A Turnock (2020) explored women’s experience in gyms and the barriers that they faced in mixed gyms and examined how gym layout and the gendering of specific spaces such as the weightlifting area created ’emotional barriers’ that women faced crossing into these ‘male spaces’ (Turnock, 2020). Personal level emotional barriers such as embarrassment or low self-worth link to the emphasis in gyms on conforming to societal-idealised physical standards (Salvatore & Maracek, 2010), and they further relate to the feelings of ‘non-belonging’ which discourage participation (Sassatelli, 2010). Understanding the setting helps create an informed understanding of women’s access inequalities in gyms. Women feel they are on show and subject to constant judgement from their peers, otherwise known as the ‘male gaze’ (Turnock, 2020). While it is noted that a solution to this would be women-only gyms, Turnock found opposition among the participants as they find training in entirely different spaces demeaning. Therefore, mixed gyms could solve the issues presented by making minor alterations to the gym, such as layout (Turnock,2020). However, a weakness of Turnock’s research is that she interviewed women who were already comfortable attending mixed gyms. Furthermore, it does not take in cultural/religious backgrounds, so it is not very objective to the most excluded members of the female community. Further limitations to the research are that most women interviewed were white, under 30, and had body privilege (able-bodied, slender). This opens the opportunity for better representation that will be conducted as part of this paper’s methodology, which looks to have a wide variety of representations from age to the background to develop the findings on Turnock.
Cause that’s what girls do
Craig & Liberti’s (2007) study highlights the differences in male and female exercise and the organisation structure of a female gym. The study focused on how both the organisation running the gym and its female participants made it a feminised gym as the layout of gym equipment and speech norms by staff, such as asking how the family was, helped enact performances of femininity. Although the gym participants were not aware they were doing so, this created a space where women worked out to lose weight and converse about husbands and children (Craig & Liberti, 2007). The organisation helped shape women’s behaviour rather than accommodate the women’s behaviour (Craig & Liberti, 2007). Some of the drawbacks to the study is that the culture of the women’s only gym is focused from a heterosexual point of view which excludes lesbians from the conversation or women who do not fit into the typical societal norms of heterosexual marriage (Craig & Liberti, 2007). Despite a surface organisation culture that was meant to foster inclusion, the conversations that took place suppressed difference; for example, a single black woman in her 30s felt frustrated that all conversations revolved around husbands/children.
The Grunt
While studies on gyms establish the theoretical societal framework which helped polarise gender identities such as masculinity and femininity (Johansson, 1997), the often male performance of grunting turns the gym into a place where gender inequalities in health emerge (Lev & Herzog, 2021). A famous claim by de Beauvoir (1956) stated, “A woman is not born a woman but is made one” (de Beauvoir, 1956), and it can be argued that it is also relevant to men who see grunting as a way to establish male identity and brotherhood (Lev & Herzog, 2021). This performance expresses the differences between male and female identity and physical skills. It is also interesting to note how for males, grunting is seen as expected for the masculine male. On the other hand, grunting as a female is often seen as taboo and women are expected to exhale appropriately; otherwise, they risk breaching gym norms. Women grunting is associated with sexuality and breaking gender norms. In the context of the study carried out by Lev, grunting establishes the symbolic and physical differences between gender’s power gap and is used as a tool by males to establish dominance in the gym space (Lev & Herzog, 2021). The findings are supported by Young (2005), which suggests that women feel limited in the spaces they can move around in the gym, whereas men move around unlimited (Young, 2005).
Feedback reviewed (from Y2 Research Methods essay) but yet to include in improvements:
Comment 10- ‘This is the sort of statistical data that should appear in your introduction to put your proposed research into context’
-However, according to various research, women are less likely than men to train regularly: 57 per cent of adult men train the recommended amount, compared to 49 per cent of women (CDC, 2017).
Comment 13- If you are planning to undertake a case study as part of your research, you should explain this in your methodology. The results of any such case study should appear in the findings/discussion chapter of your final dissertation
New references that are included in this LR:
Coen, S.E., Rosenberg, M.W. and Davidson, J., 2018. “It’s gym, like gym not Jim”: Exploring the role of place in the gendering of physical activity. Social Science & Medicine, 196, pp.29-36.
Craig, M. L. and Liberti, R., 2007. “’Cause That’s What Girls Do”: The Making of a Feminized Gym’, Gender & Society, 21(5), pp. 676–699. doi: 10.1177/0891243207306382.
De Beauvoir, S (1956) The Second Sex. London: Lowe and Brydone.
Dworkin, S.L., Fleming, P.J. and Colvin, C.J., 2015. The promises and limitations of gender-transformative health programming with men: critical reflections from the field. Culture, health & sexuality, 17(sup2), pp.128-143.
Guthold, R., Stevens, A, G., Riley, M, L., Bull C F., The Lancet Global Health., 2018. Worldwide trends in insufficient physical activity from 2001 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 358 population-based surveys with 1·9 million participants. [pdf] Available at:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30357-7/fulltext#seccestitle140 [Accessed 8 March 2022]
Johansson, T. The Sculpted Body. Gym Culture, Wellness and Aesthetics; Carlsson Bokforlag: Stockholm, Sweden, 1997.
Johnston, H., 2022., Loose Women panel clash over ‘sexist’ female-only gyms that offer ‘protection’ from predatory men – as Colleen Nolan says asking for special treatment is a ‘double standard’ [online] Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10515137/Loose-Women-panel-clash-female-gyms-sexist.html [Accessed 26 March 2022]
Lev, A. and Hertzog, E., 2021. Granting the privilege to grunt: Reconceptualizing the perception of grunting in gyms. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, p.10126902211020170.
Littlejohn, S. W., & Foss, K. A., 2009., Gender role theory. In Encyclopedia of communication theory (Vol. 1, pp. 434-436). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412959384.n161
Maciuca, A., 2021., The London Economic. Most women made to feel uncomfortable in public gyms, poll reveals. [online] available at: [Accessed 25 March 2022]
Ng, K., 2020. The Independent., Gymbox manager tells woman ‘high testosterone levels’ to blame for ‘extreme reactions’ from male gym-goers. [online] Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gymbox-westfield-stratford-women-manager-testosterone-men-a9305861.html [Accessed 1 April 2022]
Poole, G., 2013. The Guardian., Women-only gym sessions are not part of a feminist plot. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/23/women-only-gym-not-a-feminist-plot [Accessed 1 April 2022]
Pridgeon, L. and Grogan, S., 2012. Understanding exercise adherence and dropout: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of men and women’s accounts of gym attendance and non-attendance. Qualitative research in sport, Exercise and Health, 4(3), pp.382-399.
Salvatore, J. and Marecek, J., 2010. Gender in the gym: Evaluation concerns as barriers to women’s weight lifting. Sex Roles, 63(7), pp.556-567.
Sassatelli, R., 2010. Fitness culture: Gyms and the commercialisation of discipline and fun. Springer.
Turnock, L.A., 2021. ‘There’s a difference between tolerance and acceptance’: Exploring women’s experiences of barriers to access in UK gyms. Wellbeing, Space and Society, 2, p.100049.
Willinger, N., Steele, J., Liguori, G., Atkinson, L., Mann, S., Jimenez, A. and Horton, E., 2020. Comparing And Explaining Membership Length And Attendance Behaviour Of Women In Female-only And Mixed-gender Gyms: 2199 Board #118 May 28 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 52(7 Suppl), pp.587–588. https://doi.org/10.1249/01.mss.0000680620.48258.35.
Young, I.M., 2005. On female body experience:” Throwing like a girl” and other essays. Oxford University Press.
