Research exposes toxic harassment many women experience in gyms

By Stephen Beech

Women exercising in gyms often face harassment and negative comments about their bodies, warns a new study.

Researchers in Britain and Ireland uncovered a series of "barriers" faced by women working out - including comments about physical appearance and gym attire - that lead to a "persistent sense of inadequacy".

They hope their findings, published in the journal PLOS One, could help create more "inclusive" gym spaces for women.

The research was conducted by Dr. Jekaterina Schneider, from the University of the West of England, Bristol, and Dr. Emma Cowley, of the SHE Research Centre, TUS, Ireland.

Dr. Cowley said: "Exercise significantly improves physical, mental, and psycho-social health.

"Recent research indicates that women who engage in regular exercise experience greater health benefits than men, including lower incidence of all-cause mortality and reduced risk of cardiovascular events.

"Despite an increase in gym memberships, women are less active than men and little is known about the barriers women face when navigating gym spaces."

The research team explored women’s body image and experiences exercising in gyms.

A total of 297 women - 84% current gym-goers; 68.1% white - completed an online survey.

Dr. Cowley said: "The results showed that women often feel judged for their appearance and performance, leading to a persistent sense of inadequacy, as well as having to fight for space in the gym and to be taken seriously, while navigating harassment and unsolicited comments from men.

"Despite this, women showed signs of resistance toward gendered and appearance ideals permeating gym environments, and some experienced empowerment through skill acquisition, breaking gender norms, and exercising in supportive environments.

"One key finding was women’s perceptions of gym attire as both a barrier and facilitator to exercise.

"Aligning with previous literature, women often chose attire based on comfort and functionality.

"However, their choices were also influenced by comparisons with others or fear of judgement for wearing non-branded attire or looking too put together.

"Many women also chose gym attire to hide perceived problem areas or avoid appearance concerns, including visible sweat stains."

The researchers said the findings should be considered in light of several limitations including the fact that most of the participants were white, heterosexual, and identified as “normal” weight and able-bodied.

But they propose a "multi-level" approach to support women in accessing and feeling comfortable in gym spaces, to increase physical activity.

Dr. Schneider said: “In the gym, just like in other areas of life, women often feel stuck between being seen as ‘too much’ and ‘not enough’, dealing with judgement about how they look, how they perform, and even how much space they take up.

"Even though the pressure to be super thin is decreasing, the growing focus on being muscular and athletic is creating new challenges."

She added: "It is pushing unrealistic standards that can negatively affect women’s body image and overall well-being.”