I can feel the air on my thighs and a jiggle in my step after I slip into my gym shorts. My cellulite, which rarely sees the light of day, is hanging out for all to see. My thighs rub together and stubble stands on end without the protective sheath of my capris. I am ready to get my workout on.
And I am uncomfortable.
My mind is preoccupied with self-conscious curiosities. Is my summer tan still strong enough to distract from my natural pastiness? How much jiggle do I have going on? Are people as laser-focused on my cellulite as I suspect they are?
The most important question I should be asking myself is: why do I care?
If there is anything the patriarchy has taught us, it’s that women’s bodies are here not for their owners’ autonomous use, but for others’ consumption. This system tells women they had better look flawless and photoshopped before even thinking about exposing their sinful body parts to the world. Our rights to comfort end where onlookers’ expectations of being surrounded by human ornaments begin.
Well, I call b*llshit.
There are already so few spaces out there where women can feel completely comfortable in their own skin, and dammit, the gym should be one of them. Yet, the defensiveness and cynicism we use as tools to face the outside world tend to take root deep within our own self-image, turning our own self-talk into objectifying echoes of society’s harebrained double standards.
Here are a few reasons why we should say “to hell with that noise” and feel okay wearing shorts to the gym.
1. Working out can get hot.
You can find men flitting around the gym in nothing but a pair of breezy board shorts any time of day. If we boil it down to basics, working out increases body temperature and the less clothing coverage we have, the more our sweat can evaporate and cool us down. It’s science, mmkay?
The idea that “women don’t sweat, they glow” is nonsense. Women sweat. Women like to get their pump on. Women appreciate feeling unencumbered by tons of layers when working out. Just like men. When we wear shorts instead of leggings, that is just a smaller item of sticky-sweaty clothing we have to peel off of our bodies later. Let us be comfortable, alright?
2. Shorts don’t fall down.
There are a lot of predictable activities you will find me doing at the gym. Lifting heavy things, grunting, and complaining about cardio are a few examples, but perhaps the thing I do most continuously is pull up my capris as they slip off my hips. Frankly, I feel like Urkel most of the time I work out.
Unless capris are super-tight around the waist, they are going to fall down when I jump, run, or bounce. Shorts don’t do me like that. Shorts stay put. Shorts don’t betray me. So, the days I know I’ll be fighting with my workout pants all the live long day, I prefer shorts.
On Mamamia Out Loud, we talk about the no-pants fashion movement:
3. The only reason shorts are off limits is because we make them off limits.
If the only reason we cover up our thighs is to fit into some b*llshit social contract we never signed, something needs to change. We have been duped into thinking the expectations society has for us are the rules. They are not. We make the rules when it comes to our own bodies.
Change must start by way of making decisions of how we dress our own bodies and how we judge other women for how they dress theirs. The next time we see a fellow female gym rat shorting it up, catch your conditioned mind in its tracks. Give her a mental or verbal shout out: “Hell yes, you do you” or “Good for her!” It’s time to smash the patriarchy, one sweaty, exposed thigh at a time.
This article first appeared on Ravishly, your first stop for feminist hugs.
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Top Comments
Ok, so here's the thing, believe it or not other people at the gym are not there to look at you! YOU feel self conscious. No one else could give a toss what you are wearing (they are either focussed on their workout or busy worrying about what they are wearing lol).
I honestly don't even know where this idea that women can't wear shorts came from? I've been wearing them for years.
And as for flashing people - I wear knickers underneath - doesn't everybody?? And my workout knickers err on the sensible and comfortable side... Plus heaps have inbuilt shorts/undies in them also.
Wear the shorts, be comfortable and channel all this extra wasted energy into smashing out a great workout! Which I assume is the whole reason you are there in the first place...
I don't wear shorts to the gym because they either:
1. Catch on the back of my bike when I'm doing RPM
2. Cause my thighs to stick to the seats of the weight machines/mats, which is gross and probably crawling with other people's bum sweat germs from them wearing shorts.
3. Give my knees no protection from the hard floor/rough carpet/rubbery mat as I exercise, and leave me with carpet burn, bruises or rough knees.
Essentially, short shorts are not practical for most gym activities. They're great for running, sports and other outdoor activities, but the second you need to sit down or make lower limb contact with the ground, they're a bother.
I second the sticking to weight machines. Also, not appropriate during yoga type classes unless you like flashing the class in multi-way mirrors.
You don't lay your towel down on machines?
I do of course to try and avoid that, but it's often hard when you're doing vigorous leg exercises like leg press or inner thighs where it bunches up or you can't cover everything and something is bound to stick. Plus gyms are generally air conditioned, meaning it's hardly warmer wearing knee length leggings than it is booty shorts. Men's shorts are longer and usually cover to the top of the knee which protects on the machines, where women's shorts are often shorter.
I don't see the need for shorts at the gym, but I don't acre what other women do either.
Yup, where are your towels people?!? Gross...