Education 6106: Pop Culture and Literacy Education Assignment One Reading (My) Popular Culture: A Mini-Study in Critical Literacy Kendra Fleming Memorial University of Newfoundland Reading (My) Popular Culture 1 Introduction Popular culture is always changing in our world at a blinding rate. From the latest songs and movies, to new technology and fashion trends, society is always trying to “keep up with the times.“ There are many aspects of popular culture with which one can become affiliated with an a personal level, each sparking interest for various purposes. However, what may be advertised as a new innovation or campaign designed to relieve a societal issue may be doing more harm than good to the public. Such is often the case with the newer-trending popular culture practise I have chosen to investigate: ‘boutique’ and other similar fitness communities. Boutique studios can be defined as “small gym[s], generally between 800 and 3500 square feet, that focuses on a more community-like group exercise in one or two specific fitness areas. Some popular studios include SoulCycle, Peloton, Orange Theory, Barry's Bootcamp, CorePower Yoga, and Class Pass” (Zacks.com, 2018). In the St. John’s region, there are a variety of small fitness communities one can be a part of, from spin class and yoga studios to CrossFit Islander and other various weightlifting centers, we are a small province with a growing interest in boutique fitness. Growing up as an active child in rural Newfoundland, I had always been aligned to some type of community. Whether it was my hometown friend group or one of the five sports teams I was a member of, I was surrounded by a good support and motivation system in my school days. Being a full-time university student left little time for physical activity. I no longer had the team mentality surrounding me that I was accustomed to, and with it went my motivation to be active. My social anxiety coupled with my dislike of and lack of knowledge about exercise machines and big “box gyms” had prevented me from maintaining the lifestyle I was familiar with at home. After winning an online contest I began a strength training class in a small private facility and found what I had been missing. I remained in this “community” for four years, was an employee for three years, and became heavily involved in the sport of powerlifting. This sport quickly became the new passion I had lost, and Reading (My) Popular Culture 2 the sense of family that followed kept that passion alive for me. Aside from becoming active again, joining this boutique fitness group allowed me to feel part of an exclusive circle of support of people, and created my own social identity that I never felt I had while competing in team sports. I gained a lot of confidence in my abilities when I began to see progress, and learning how to compete individually and focus on my own capabilities really helped combat a lot of my social phobia as I was experiencing. Training and competing in powerlifting has also helped me understand how gender identities are perceived in society. Weight training exercises are accepted by most as solely a masculine activity. Those unfamiliar with the sport or the use of weights in fitness believe that females are too delicate to use such strenuous equipment, or fear that females will become “too bulky” if they routinely engage in such activities. Many people tend to frown upon those who exercise in such a way and refuse to experience it themselves. Most of my present physical activity routines is still revolve around the boutique fitness industry. I enjoy group exercise classes such as indoor cycling, yoga and various boot camp-typed sessions. Having spent two years teaching in areas that did not have these studio types has allowed me to reflect and analyze the cultural aspects that has made the fitness industry the trend-focused, highly profitable industry it is today, and how major companies are taking advantage of (and neglecting) many groups in society. Boutique Fitness Meets Economic and Consumer Culture Exercising methods have been used by populations for centuries. Boutique fitness, though it has only been popular in the last decade or so, has become a skyrocketing trend. Ulseth and Seippel (2011) explain that “we are living in a post-industrial society meaning that more people than ever are working in service, communication, education and the like, and fewer people are occupied in primary and secondary industries… one of the consequences of this shift in occupational structures is that many people today are less physically active during their working day than former generations” (p.2). High-end boutique gyms make up over 35% of a $26 billion dollar market, and between 2012 and 2015, memberships to boutique Reading (My) Popular Culture 3 fitness studios grew by 70% in comparison to memberships at traditional gyms that grew by 5% (Curley, 2019). Classes can average between $30-$50 per session, which the average cost of a monthly membership to traditional fitness clubs. Many who attend yoga, spin class, CrossFit or other similar studios become addicted to their regimes, especially females. “Visual culture has disturbed girls’ and women’s relationships to their own bodies. They are increasingly unable to feel their bodies from the inside. Instead they rely on what they see in the mirror to give them a sense of their bodies. Tragically, for most girls and women today, whatever their actual body measurements and whether or not they conform to the current thin aesthetic or not, what they see in the mirror fails to please them. They see themselves and they experience themselves too fat. They are fat in their minds” (Orbach, 2005, p.68). It’s no surprise that most women and girls are not satisfied with their appearances, and there seems to be an increase in males experiencing this unhappiness as well. Marketing and advertising in the media has seen an increase in eating disorders, anxiety and depression. Orbach (2005) reports that “in 1995 TV, with mainly US programming, was introduced to Fiji, a country not known to have eating and body image problems. Three years later, 11.9% of teenage Fijian girls were found to be bulimic” (p.68). The video “The Illusionists” (Rossini, 2005) explains that there is intense pressure to have an ideal body. The desire, however, it does not come from women themselves. Society, mass media and health companies are portraying that skinny or sculpted is equated with success in order to turn a profit. Those who are confident in their appearances do not make good consumers of health and wellness products. Consumer culture is corrupting and exporting society by conditioning them to believe that looks are of utmost importance, and this can only be achieved by buying into the latest and greatest trends. Along with the immense price tag that comes with attending boutique fitness classes, the associated costs of fitness fashion are also ones that must be considered important to consumer culture. “Boutique exercise remains a growth industry, especially as it works hand-in-glove with the relentlessly consumable aesthetic cult of lifestyle and personal branding” (Romanoff, 2017). Studios double as a gift Reading (My) Popular Culture 4 shop, to which one can buy overpriced clothing or accessories as a way to earn social status and provide companies with pro bono advertising. Cutler (Soul cycle, 2014) describes how fashion in fitness is just as important as the cycling component of SoulCycle. “We do 14 collections a year. So part of the experience of coming to SoulCycle is not just the core business of the fitness workout. It’s what you wear to and from… you want to feel a certain way. I really think that working out is really about how you feel” (p.3). She also talks of how Women’s Wear Daily journal describes SoulCycle as having “inness [and] being like a cult that is a little bit connected to Chanel” (p.3). Cutler using her interview to compare the company’s clothing lines to that of a high-fashion label further attracts consumers to purchase their fitness apparel. Similarly, CrossFitters also have a distinct style. With their head-to-toe Reebok clothing showcasing the CrossFit emblem, those that train at “the box” are further able to solidify their cult-like community through consumer culture. Brands like Lululemon, Nike, Gymshark and celebrity created fitness apparel like Kate Hudson’s Fabletics, though not directly affiliated with a fitness studio, are all seen a status brands. “The money these industries spend on positioning their wares as essential routes to achieve desirability and glamour demonstrates their wish to captivate ever-bigger audiences for their ‘must-have’ products” (Orbach, 2005, p.67). Socio-cult(ural) Analysis of Boutique Fitness The fitness industry, or fitness culture itself, is strongly tied to socio-culture. Many people, like myself, enjoy the community that boutique fitness studios create. Aside from exercising, one also engages in active socialization while leaving external stimuli and problems behind. Small studio exercise tends to create what Elizabeth Cutler, co-founder of SoulCycle, calls a “fitness experience” where you “find joy in that exercise” (Soul Cycle, 2014, p.3). However, from my experience and that of many others, fitness boutiques can often create a cult-like or religious culture to attract and maintain memberships. Romanoff (2017) describes how “even more than solo exercise, these classes mimic the structure of religious ritual Reading (My) Popular Culture 5 by creating specific packets of community. They assign times to arrive, instructors to revere as gurus, and routines to perform on command.” Bailey, Benson and Bruner (2019), when describing the regime of CrossFit, explain that “all aspects of the one hour class are always written down on the board” for everyone to follow, much like that of church programs, and that “ these visual and observable aspects of culture are aspects of the beliefs and values of the organization” (p.6). Stoddard’s (2011) article entitled “Inside the Cult of CrossFit” describes the program as being “like a cult crossed with a pyramid scheme, and the base is always widening” (p.6). Though the boutique fitness culture is appealing to customers by creating a welcoming, community-like environment, the clique culture they create seems to be the main driver of their success. Many members describe studios as being a type of unspoken family. Todd Miller, director of George Washington University‘s Weight Management and Human Performance Laboratory, says that this family mentality is the subtle selling point of many specialized studios: “it’s not the way their slim, exquisitely curved instructors can execute a side plank, a sumo squat or a warrior pose. It’s their very cliquishness” (Ramanathan, 2018). The fostering of tribes encourage members to continue to come back—and in groups, as many feel “a special kinship after enduring a couple dozen burpees together “( Ramanathan, 2018). Dawson (2015), suggests that CrossFit has kept its community strong by “weeding out dissident voices” and that “those who have found fault with some aspects of CrossFit and who have spoken out publicly about the negative aspects of the exercise regime have very quickly been brought back into line or expelled from CrossFit’s inner circle” (Dawson, 2014, cited in Dawson, 2015, p.372). Many of these companies work hard to make sure customers keep drinking their proverbial Kool-Aid, as this joint mentality is what keeps their businesses thriving. Boutique fitness studio design also plays a part in developing a cult-like environment. Cutler (2014), in her interview with Bloomberg TV, describes a euphoric-like setting at SoulCycle: “you walk in the space and you immediately feel elevated by being in some place that is chic and some place that is Reading (My) Popular Culture 6 clean and some place where someone is greeting you with a smile and with a great attitude.” Most cycling studios like SoulCycle are small, with zero lighting, save a few candles surrounding the instructor’s bike. Many describe the setting as being intimate and comfortable due to low visibility of other participants. It is a dark, yet inviting space where you can “check out and yet check in” to get the full fitness experience (SoulCycle, 2014). Dawson (2015) explains that CrossFit training spaces “resemble a large shed-like container or warehouse known as ‘the box’ ”(p.364). This box reference indicates how the company has created an enclosed environment, quite the opposite of welcoming, where one must get to know other participants and work together in order to achieve their goals. Boutique Fitness’ Culture of Addiction The desire to become part of the community atmosphere boutique studios create can come at a price. Many participants in these programs become addicted due to its ability to produce rapid results. Once participants begin to see changes these studios create, it becomes difficult to stop working at such a high intensity. “We live in a culture that fetishizes intensity as a path to purity, and considers purity a form of desirable perfection. We cannot necessarily trust ourselves to know when to stop” (Romanoff, 2017). In their quest for inclusion and promotion up the social ladder, many may push themselves past their normal limits of physical exertion. One participant in Bailey et. al’s (2019) study revealed that during their first experience at CrossFit, “I hurt my back and I nearly barfed on (a coach’s) feet [laughs] because I wasn’t thinking and I thought I could do more than I should be doing” (p.8). What Romanoff calls the “fetishization of never-ending accomplishment” creates a “perpetually striving mindset that’s very good for selling class packages, but very bad for finding any kind of actual mental peace.” Dr. Keisha Cutright at the University of Pennsylvania says that there is new research that “concludes feeling as though parts of your life have slipped out of your control spurs a craving for effortful activity” (in Heid, 2004). With the many demands today’s society creates, it can be easy to feel as though you’re losing control of aspects of your life. Cutright adds that when it comes to an activity like Reading (My) Popular Culture 7 CrossFit, “you feel like you’re in charge of the desired outcome… you find a certain amount of control over your life and that feels good” (Heid, 2014). Dr. Juliana Breines also states that harsh diet and exercise routines may come as a way for those with low self-esteem to administer self-punishment. “People who are lower in self-esteem may be more likely to choose to suffer based on the belief that they deserve to suffer, and because suffering is more consistent with their negative self-views” (in Hyde, 2014). Studio Advertising: Segregation Creation While boutique studios claim to be inclusive and diverse, when looking at the demographic they attract through marketing or other advertising ploys, it is quite clear that further division of society are being created instead of diminished. Our current post-industrial society has not only changed the way people are exercising, but it also has shifted the way these divisions and any qualities are created: “whereas industrial societies were marked by social inequalities to a large extent related to class, gender and age, post-industrial societies are also supposed to generate social inequalities more closely related to culture, lifestyle, leader and consumption” (Ulseth and Seipple, 2011, p.2). Engaging in physical activity and contributing to one’s overall well-being is often related to social class. Ulseth and Seipple’s (2011) research study on how culture and lifestyle might matter for social inequality in fitness centres concluded that “both measures of class as culture (education and cultural taste) carry importance, indicating that fitness activities reflect both matters of social status and lifestyle” (p.14). Ramanathan’s (2018) article describes how many small group classes like cycling and yoga attract and retain a majority of young, fit, white bodies; the population of those who do not fit this description are almost non-existent. Jessamyn Stanley, A yoga teacher in North Carolina, describes how “there hasn’t been a time in our collective history where people have been as integrated as they are now… and yet, pick a class, any class… is there reallllly everybody, or just everybody that can afford to go?…the messaging… is essentially: You’re allowed in the space if you are white, slender, able-bodied Reading (My) Popular Culture 8 and less than 45, cis-gender and heterosexual. And if you are not, then you are not welcome” (Ramanathan, 2018). Gopi Kinnicutt also adds that while she is aware that efforts are being made to increase exercising diversity, when looking at yoga advertising, “rarely do you see an African-American woman or an Indian person striking a pose. Yoga comes from India, for God's sake” (Ramanathan, 2018). The media continually broadcasts yogis as being solely thin and tall. Aside from race, further division is also created between boutique fitness and those needing modified exercises. “The rhetoric fails to account for… people with disabilities that preclude participation in one-size-fits-all programs. And the marketing and culture of group classes and expensive gyms often subtly discouraged people who are overweight or not white from attending” (Romanoff, 2017). Whether you are a minority, a senior, disabled or overweight, small studios and their advertising hardly strive to include any of these social groups, hindering the openness and inclusivity these companies claim they work so hard to create. Conclusion The boutique fitness industry remains on the rise, with companies creating new studios each year. Using marketing techniques like the creation of the ‘fitness family,’ promising rapid results, and frequent fitness fashion lines keeps memberships totals at an increase each year, despite the higher cost. Many will fall into the addictive cycle of intense exercise as a way to gain control, self-confidence and social status, and fitness studios will always work to gain capitalize on the misfortunes of others. While I admit that I will continue to overpay for small studios with loud instructors and music, prior experience in this industry allows me to be more skeptical and critical of the ploys companies create to attract new and recurring members. Reading (My) Popular Culture 9 References Bailey, B., Benson, A.J., & Bruner, M.W. (2019) Investigating the organisational culture of CrossFit. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17(3), 197-211. Retrieved from https://g4yd.nipissingu.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/72/2014/03/Investigating-the-organisationalulture-of-CrossFit.pdf Curley, E. (2019). Why The Boutique Fitness Business Is Booming. Glofox Blog. Retrieved from https://www.glofox.com/blog/the-boutique-fitness-industry-statistics-that-show-why-business-is booming/. Dawson, M. (2017). CrossFit: Fitness cult or reinventive institution? International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 52(3), 361-379. Heid, M. (2014). CrossFit: Why are so many addicted to it? Time Magazine. Retrieved from https://time.com/3083506/you-asked-why-are-people-addicted-to-crossfit-and-other-brutal-work uts/. Orbach, S. (2005). Commentary: There is a public health crisis—its not fat on the body but fat in the mind and the fat of profits. International Journal of Epidemiology, 35(1), 67–69. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyi256 Ramanathan, L. (2018). Is your spin class too young, too thin and too white? The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/is-your-spin-class-too-young-too-thin-and-too-w hite/2018/03/16/ca2fa406-1282-11e8-8ea1-c1d91fcec3fe_story.html. Romanoff, Z. (2017). The consumerist church of fitness classes. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/12/my-body-is-a-temple/547346/. Rossini, E. (Director). (2015). The Illusionists [Video file]. Media Education Foundation. Retrieved September 17, 2019, from Kanopy. Soul cycle co-founder elizabeth cutler intvd on bloomberg TV. (2014). CEO Wire. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.qe2a-proxy.mun.ca/docview/1507603760?account id=12378 Stoddard, G. (2011). Inside the cult of CrossFit. Men's Health, 26, 130-134, 175. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.qe2a-proxy.mun.ca/docview/1018977446?accountid=12378 Ulseth, A.-L. B. & Seippel, Ø. (2011). Fitness, class and culture: Social inequality in fitness. Retrieved from http://idrottsforum.org/articles/ulseth_seippel/ulseth_seippel11 1123.pdf. Reading (My) Popular Culture 10 Zacks.com. (2018). What is boutique fitness, and how can investors profit? Retrieved from https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/what-boutique-fitness-and-how-can-investors-profit 2018-08-28.
