really tho a lot of fitness culture is an intersection of the worst of late capitalist “masculinity”: pseudo-intellectualism, paranoia, objectification of the body, deference to authority rather than intuition or internal cues, intolerance of illness or weakness (universal human experiences), xtreme self-monitoring, delusions of grandeur, and on and on. it creates a front for pushing and falsely advertising useless products based on those elements, as well as (u know i can’t not say it!) operating as a means of social control
Twenty-First Century Victorians
Current exercise trends, like hot yoga, spin, and CrossFit, all
demonstrate a commitment to self-denial and self-discipline, values much
praised by the Victorians. Marathon running has become the ultimate
signifier: competitors can post photos on social media to prove to everyone that they have tortured their bodies in a highly virtuous — and not at all kinky — fashion.This seeps over into everyday activities as well. Trader Joe’s and
Whole Foods are filled with people dressed in workout gear with no sweat
in sight. This clothing marks its wearers as the type of people who
care for their bodies, even when they aren’t exercising. Yoga pants and
running shoes display virtue just as clearly as the nineteenth-century wives’ corseted dresses did.Being fit now indexes class, saturating both fitness and food
culture. As calories have become cheaper, obesity has changed from being
a sign of wealth to a sign of moral failure. Today, being unhealthy
functions as a hallmark of the poor’s cupidity the same way
working-class sexual mores were viewed in the nineteenth century.Both lines of thinking assert that the lower classes cannot control
themselves, so they deserve exactly what they have and nothing more. No
need, then, for higher wages or subsidized health care. After all, the poor will just waste it on cigarettes and cheeseburgers.what’s the impact on me reading this post at the gym
bongdanceking 