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amatyultareFrom mid-2015, a somewhat random rant after reading an article about a very frustrating topic.
Subtitled: This Article Ruined My Day And Now It Gets To Ruin Yours
[Disclaimer: I do not mean to criticize the author of this piece, who obviously was going for a certain tone and angle but still wrote an interesting, reasonably balanced article. It just…is also about people and concepts that I find to be THE WORST.]
Sincere Questions
Consider the terms: healthy; [physically] fit; strong; skinny; attractive.
This focus of this article is about how much money some people spend to get or remain fit, primarily through “boutique fitness classes”.
The article proposes several reasons for why its subjects spend so much on boutique fitness classes, including: having a “spiritual and tribal” experience, being part of the in-crowd and rubbing shoulders with the elite, displaying class participation as a form of conspicuous consumption, or even publicly becoming “fit”/developing the perfect body as the ultimate status symbol.
The article documents a elision of expensive exercise classes (and other costly investments in “health”) with the state of being “fit”. The combination of high-expense effort and perceived fitness in turn imparts high cultural status. How might this conflation affect our culture’s perception of the poor? The disabled or chronically ill? People who do not have “perfect bodies”?
A majority of the experts and all of the fitness class attendees cited in this article are female. Do you think this is a coincidence, or do you think it points to a gendered aspect of the rise of boutique fitness?
Snarky Questions
Who the hell would actually pay $20 for a smoothie?
Lady who founded AKT: when you call your classes “a transformational program [that] change[s] your life”, do you actually BELIEVE your own BS? Or is that entirely a marketing line?
In what world is $2000/year for a gym membership “relatively reasonable”?
I should stop feeling vaguely guilty about my $17/month gym membership because “I COULD technically just ride my bide and buy a set of weights to use at home”, right? Right.
Subtitled: This Article Ruined My Day And Now It Gets To Ruin Yours
[Disclaimer: I do not mean to criticize the author of this piece, who obviously was going for a certain tone and angle but still wrote an interesting, reasonably balanced article. It just…is also about people and concepts that I find to be THE WORST.]
Sincere Questions
Consider the terms: healthy; [physically] fit; strong; skinny; attractive.
- How are these terms formally defined? By contrast, what do they mean in the context of modern casual usage?
- Some have argued that these terms have been inappropriately elided – for example, that “healthy” and “physically fit” or “fit” and “attractive” are used interchangeably when they mean different things. Do you agree? Do you see examples in this article of these terms being confused with each other?
- The article also refers to “being in shape”. How would you define “being in shape”? Which of the terms above, if any, are synonymous for “in shape”?
- Why does this language matter? Do you see any concerns or potential consequences stemming from the way these terms are used or confused?
This focus of this article is about how much money some people spend to get or remain fit, primarily through “boutique fitness classes”.
- The second paragraph of the article states, “Fitness has become a luxury item”. Do you agree? Has fitness become an “item”? Has it become a luxury?
- Later in the article, Michael Fishman states “Fitness can be had by anybody for free.” Do you agree? How does this conflict (or not) with the statement that fitness is a luxury item? How might these two statements be reconciled?
- Another example the article gives of fitness becoming a luxury good is the popularity of expensive smoothies and workout clothes. Can you think of other examples of the “commoditization” of fitness? Of health?
The article proposes several reasons for why its subjects spend so much on boutique fitness classes, including: having a “spiritual and tribal” experience, being part of the in-crowd and rubbing shoulders with the elite, displaying class participation as a form of conspicuous consumption, or even publicly becoming “fit”/developing the perfect body as the ultimate status symbol.
- Which of these reasons do you think account for the rise of boutique fitness? Or do you think the reason is something else altogether?
- Do you think some of these reasons are better than others? Why?
- Consider the concept of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. Which of these reasons for participating in boutique fitness might be termed intrinsic motivators? Which are extrinsic? How does this affect your feelings about each reason?
The article documents a elision of expensive exercise classes (and other costly investments in “health”) with the state of being “fit”. The combination of high-expense effort and perceived fitness in turn imparts high cultural status. How might this conflation affect our culture’s perception of the poor? The disabled or chronically ill? People who do not have “perfect bodies”?
A majority of the experts and all of the fitness class attendees cited in this article are female. Do you think this is a coincidence, or do you think it points to a gendered aspect of the rise of boutique fitness?
Snarky Questions
Who the hell would actually pay $20 for a smoothie?
Lady who founded AKT: when you call your classes “a transformational program [that] change[s] your life”, do you actually BELIEVE your own BS? Or is that entirely a marketing line?
In what world is $2000/year for a gym membership “relatively reasonable”?
I should stop feeling vaguely guilty about my $17/month gym membership because “I COULD technically just ride my bide and buy a set of weights to use at home”, right? Right.
