The dangers facing the female fitness industry should be brought to the forefront, as the ever-growing in popularity industry does largely base its marketing strategies on the insecurities of women who look to various websites in relation to the industry to find ‘informative’ posts to help guide them towards their end goal, and misleading information that these websites can offer to female readers who hope to find quick fixes for weight loss and ways to ‘tone up’.
Social media strategy.
There are a lot of strategies that fitness companies and brands do to market their products, and can use methods within their marketing to make someone feel bad and to make them want to buy their product. There is now also an influx of self-proclaimed female fitness experts rising on social media sites, with a growing mass of followers, who continue to promote misleading information to their interested female audience, as they know that they are in a position to take full advantage of women who are easily swayed into believing that every product with ‘protein’ or ‘weight loss’ labels attached, for example, will give them the results that they so desperately want.
Sexualisation of women.
The sexualisation of women in the fitness industry is vastly becoming a cause for concern, as public figures such as Paige Hathaway who is now an internet sensation, are often sharing shots from their latest photo shoots, posing with a dumbbell or another weight whilst leant over in skimpy short shorts and a sports bra, oiled up to the nines and with a glamorous full face of make-up and their hair perfectly done to top it off. With less association being made to performance in training and the hard work, sweat and dedication that it truly takes, and more towards half-naked Instagram shots, the future population of female athletes are being negatively influenced younger ages.
A change of focus.
Why are we being convinced that it is the thing to do to go to the gym with a full face of makeup and little clothing, workout but make it look attractive at the same time, and not do it so much for ourselves, but for other people’s satisfaction too? Women are left feeling demoralised and in competition with one another over their looks, when really the female fitness industry should be about building one another up, encouraging each other and giving out useful, realistic advice.
Women have to overcome a massive amount of mental and physical hurdles. Unfortunately, in today’s physical society, including the ever-expanding fitness industry, women and young females are continually pressured or shamed into feeling like they should work out, or diet, solely to change their appearance, instead of being told that being healthy and happy in their own skin is the best way to be and that they should take full advantage of that, leaving the fad diets and products that rising fitness industries incessantly promote for profit only reasons.
