Women are being put off going to the gym by the stress of what to wear and overbearing men.
Exercise now comes with the pressure of deciding if a crop-top is age-appropriate, if leggings are too revealing and if a new gym outfit looks too ‘put together’, a study has revealed.
Meanwhile almost a quarter of women have received at least one unsolicited comment from a man in the gym, ranging from unwanted compliments on their appearance to feedback on their exercise technique.
The findings come from a survey of 279 current and former gym-goers, all women, who answered 130 questions on their exercise experiences.
The research, led by Liverpool John Moores University, found a major theme of women feeling judged for their appearance and performance in the gym.
Women feared being laughed at, or seen as inadequate, with their concerns about looking ‘stupid’, unfit or new to exercise even affecting their choice of clothes.
One woman responded: ‘I think wearing new clothing sets and looking ‘too’ put together may make others take me less seriously.’
Another said: ‘I’m too old, and my waist/stomach does not look good in a crop top’.
Workout clothes left women worrying about visible sweat marks, while 48 per cent of current gym-goers feared their underwear could be seen through leggings.
Tight-fitting gymwear exposing the outline of women’s genitals – often described as a ‘camel-toe’ – came up as a repeated concern.
One person surveyed said: ‘Sometimes if I’m wearing leggings or shorts, I get insecure about camel toe even when wearing appropriate underwear.’
Dr Emma Cowley, who led the study from Liverpool John Moores University, said: ‘Women just cannot win in the gym – often feeling judged for being too muscly if they are very fit, or feeling that they look like novices or have the wrong body type if they have just started.
‘Women being afraid to wear shorts because of their body image, or feeling too old for a crop-top, may seem trivial, but it is a really important issue if it’s stopping women exercising and potentially affecting their health as a result.
‘Meanwhile we know a lot of men feel the gym is their space and women are infiltrating that space, so they feel entitled to make comments about how women are setting up their equipment or how they look.’
The study, published in the journal PLOS One, found women felt ‘on display’ in the gym, often receiving unsolicited comments on their appearance, which came mostly from men.
Describing having to fight for space with men, while being stared at and commented upon, some women said they felt uneasy, exposed, objectified and even unsafe in the gym.
The research also revealed that women struggle with their own self-criticism and low self-esteem, with one telling researchers: ‘In the past, I’ve gone to the gym and then turned back around because I was so anxious about my skin.’
Anecdotally, some women spend 40 minutes applying make-up before going for a workout.
Unfortunately for women, the study authors say, they face pressure to look toned and athletic in the gym but both thin and curvy in everyday life.
This led one person to say: ‘I want to be lean and muscular but not too broad because I still want to be small and thin—it’s so distressing.’
Another said: ‘I don’t want to succumb to the pressure of wearing revealing clothes in the gym like other women do, but then I feel self-conscious that I don’t look ‘sexy’ enough.
‘On occasions where I’ve worn shorts to the gym, I then feel self-conscious as I’m aware of people (especially men) looking at me—I sometimes feel like I can’t win!’
However, several women said they felt empowered when occupying traditionally ‘male’ spaces in the gym, such as the weights area, and outperforming men.
Despite the rise of ‘fitspiration’ on social media, women are less active than men in general, with body image insecurities known to be part of the reason.
The new research suggests women think there is a ‘correct’ way to look in the gym, with those who feel ‘too fat’ avoiding shorts and crop-tops.
Public health campaigns should promote exercise as not just being about looking better, the researchers say, but about health and wellbeing.
They are also calling for anti-harassment policies in gyms and staff training.
