Subtitle: Let's Get Physical, Chapters 4-6
Posted on February 17th, 2022
By Olivia Baker
Over the middle chapters of Let's Get Physical
we begin to observe the transition of women's fitness culture from one that encouraged
women to exercise for the main purpose of getting smaller to one that empowered
women by offering them mental, physical, and social benefits over the course of
the 70s and 80s. Through the gateway workout that began with Judi Shepard
Missett's Jazzercise and branched off into Jane Fonda's Workout (as well
as many similar exercises lumped into the category we now know as aerobics)
women began to embrace working out as a fun social activity that boasted
benefits beyond the physical. The parallel rise in popularity of strength
training, spurred by Lisa Lyon's advocacy after winning the first World Women's
Body Building Championship, and subsequent rise of gyms created even more
social spaces than ever for women to participate in exercise. As a result,
women simultaneously had more reasons to exercise but also observed a narrowing,
dare I say "refining", of the standard of beauty that drew many to exercise in
the first place. This blog explores an odd stage in the women's fitness
movement in which the hearts and minds of women begin to change but the culture
is slower to shift.
The popularity and fun in Judi Shepherd Missett's Jazzercise
helped women find the joy in exercise and fueled a greater appreciation for
women's physicality and strength (pg#109), yet when it came time to sell her
fitness guide, her rhetoric fell back in line with the norms of the time
promising women a "lovlier, lithe, more enchanting you,"(pg#114). As a result, America's
body ideals began to include not just being thin but having a vague sense of
athleticism as well.
This notion was further fueled by Lisa Lyon's who used
her platform to expand the definition of feminine to include muscle…but not too
much muscle. Even Lisa, for all her progressive views still spoke disparagingly
about women who got "too big" (pg#186). Nonetheless, as visible muscle eased
its way into the definition of beauty, women were pushed to strive not just for
thinner physiques, but leaner ones as well.
Then there was Jane Fonda, arguably the most
recognizable name from the 70s- and 80s-women's fitness revolution and the most
vocal. Jane regularly and publicly lamented the pressure that women and emphasized
a desire for women to do her Workout for their own strength. However, in her
actions she relentlessly strove to fit the cultural standards of beauty, almost
exclusively sought out thin models for her books, and, in a cruel bit of irony,
was using the Workout for the main purpose of funding her husband's political
endeavors (pg#164). Throughout this period, women found joy, empowerment, and
fun in working out while also observing a tightening of the standards of beauty
from one that simply encouraged women to "reduce" to one that encouraged women
to appear toned and refined as well, an inadvertent roadblock in an otherwise
promising movement at the time.
What does the transition from "reduce" to "refine" say
about the movement towards a positive women's fitness culture as a whole? That
the path to success is not linear. Our leaders are imperfect, even movements
with the best intentions have unintended consequences, and norms are hard to
change. Nonetheless, progress also isn't always visible. Though the cultural
norms of the decades did not always show it and in some ways indicated movement
away from the goal of greater inclusivity and body positivity in women's
fitness, changes in the hearts and minds of people are immeasurable. As we can
see now, this stage of the fitness movement was ultimately a stepping stone
towards the women's fitness culture we observe today.
Discussion Questions:
1.
What was the gateway sport or exercise
that ultimately led you to running, walking, and/or jogging?
2.
What shifts do you see occurring in women's
fitness culture today that may not have taken hold in popular culture just yet?