"Look Like A Beauty. Train Like A Beast." But Why Though?

Fitness motivational quotes and clichés have taken over. "Sweat is magic. Cover yourself in it daily to grant your wishes." "Hustle for that muscle." If your social media is anything like mine, which it shouldn’t be because the internet somehow taps into our brains and pops ads up that you’ve thought about but never actually spoken out loud, these quotes have engulfed my feed. I’m not implying that all of them are terrible, however the ones I quoted above are on the more interesting side like sweat is magic…are we all of a sudden at the Rec Center of Hogwarts?

Anyways, the main angle I’m questioning here is the idea of fitness that surrounds females. “I will make sweat my best accessory. I will run harder than my mascara.” Why is fitness for females promoted using make up and accessory references? Are we "females" so materialistically minded that the only way to make fitness an understandable concept for us is by relating it to mascara and accessories? I’m going to be honest I’m certainly not a girly-girl and when I leave the gym I look real ratchet. But isn’t that the whole point? To stay up to date with the times, aren’t we supposed to #makegainz?

I don’t know about you but I work out to feel good, for that feeling I get afterward and so I can eat pizza. I certainly don’t go to the gym to find Mr. Right and honestly if I were to meet someone there I’d rather it start off based on a conversation about how hard my workout looked over how cute my leggings are. And this isn’t shaming the ladies that look AMAZING at the gym. Khloe Kardashian says staring at herself in the mirror while working out looking sexy motivates her. So ladies, keep doing what you're doing as long as you're #makinggainz (I’m sorry I couldn’t resist).

My point is why are females and fitness still embedded in the ideology that women work out essentially for the benefit of men. When I Googled female fitness quotes verses men’s the two were very different. The men’s were all about strength, not quitting and discipline. The female’s mentioned being skinny and how strong was the new sexy but the best one was “strong women intimate boys and excite men.” It’s ironic because that’s actually the only thing that gets me to the gym nowadays (sarcasm people).

To end the post on a high note I will say that I think fit females are utilizing social media outlets to rebrand the stereotype that attaches itself to women who lift. These women are trading in their accessories and mascara for a barbell and weights (alright I’ll stop).

-iKarli