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The sexy Insta Fitgirl who doesn’t hesitate to show her body. Apparently a source of irritation for many. I see it as a form of self-empowerment, a victory of feminism. But maybe I should explain.
Fitgirl shaming
It was inevitable that there would be more critical voices about the fitgirl trend. Yesterday we published an article about Fitgirls by Kevin den Bekker. It didn’t sit well with everyone.
That’s largely my fault. I knew we could expect these reactions, but I posted the article without any feedback. Unfortunately, apparently also with a certain blindness to a repeated spelling mistake, sorry. Possibly because I was already thinking about the reactions that would follow and considering whether it needed to be toned down or adjusted. However, I published it with a few minor adjustments without consulting Kevin to see if he might want to convey his message differently.
I decided to do this because FITsociety is currently undergoing an important change. For the blog section, this means that we will act more as a platform. This means that I no longer necessarily have to agree with pieces provided by others such as personal trainers. They will also be posted more frequently. These coaches and other authors will primarily write on their own behalf. This provides more diversity in content, but of course also more discussion.
However, I could have possibly prevented part of the discussion by pointing out to Kevin that he, in my opinion, combined two different topics in his article that could have been better addressed separately:
- The examples given by fitgirls with photos and videos should not be seen as instructional photos or videos,
- The way some fitgirls present themselves may be seen as inappropriate.
“This is obviously a ridiculous execution, but it looks cool!”
I think most people agree with his first point. Much of what you see in the motivational videos should not be taken as instructional. I don’t call them ‘motivational videos’ for nothing.
As a self-proclaimed supplier of these kinds of motivational videos and photos, I can say that they are not meant to be instructional. I’ve done photo and video shoots with a few hundred fitgirls and boys. I often say with a certain exercise:”This is obviously a ridiculous execution, but it looks cool”. Exactly what Kevin wonders if others will start doing the same exercise wrong because of it. Kevin reasons from his role as a coach, while I was acting as a photographer at that moment. The goal of my clients is (almost) never to demonstrate an exercise. They just want epic photos or videos of themselves. I often hear the words:”I’ve never done this exercise before”. They have no intention of pretending that those exercises are responsible for their physique.
So the question is to what extent this distinction is clear to the average follower. When I was a ten-year-old boy watching
Conan the Barbarian, I thought I would get as muscular as Arnold by pushing a big wheel for years. When I started weight training at an older age, I also understood that the movie should not be seen as a guide to a muscular body.
It’s not for nothing that I wrote an article earlier to emphasize that many ‘role models’ like Arnold Schwarzenegger serve mainly as inspiration and motivation.
What is “inappropriate”?
Two weeks ago, I did a photoshoot with a model who is a bit older than my average client. She had overcome various medical complications to be able to train and lead the life of a Fitgirl. Now that the desired result had been achieved, we captured this during a shoot. She had thought carefully about the styling and had brought beautiful, sexy clothing.
The photos turned out very beautiful and we will share them here soon. The term that came to mind for me first was “bombshell”. When she saw the first photos during the shoot, she was incredibly happy. I know the feeling; finally seeing yourself as you’ve always wanted to.
My clients always decide for themselves what they want to wear. There’s no photographer pushing them to show more skin or a client demanding a certain sexy look. They determine themselves what image they want to portray and through social media they decide themselves what image they want to convey.
I see that as a form of self empowerment.
For a liberal and free-thinking country like the Netherlands, I notice how many people complain about scantily clad insta models. Somewhere something doesn’t add up. If so many people find it annoying that some fitgirls like to show off the body they’ve worked hard for, why does it still turn out to be such a successful way to quickly gain followers? Of course; Sex sells. I understand that too. But you really underestimate these fitgirls by assuming that all their followers are sex-crazed men. Many of their female followers apparently find it inspiring and motivating. Apparently, many share that beauty ideal and see nothing wrong with showing it off
in a sexy way.
More importantly, as a critic, don’t you assume that these women take scantily clad photos so that men find them sexy? What’s wrong with a woman wanting to be sexy and not being plagued by Dutch modesty and sobriety? Especially if you’ve worked long and hard for it. Don’t you have the right to present yourself as a supermodel? Some will find that women lower themselves by regularly posting photos in underwear. I see the fact that they feel free to do this without feeling objectified as a feminist victory. But well, as a man, I can completely miss the mark on that point.
I never hear anyone call Doutze vulgar when she walks in the Victoria’s Secret show. Why? Because she’s a successful model? Because it’s stylish? “Inappropriate” is subjective, of course. A nude photo can be artistic while a strap of panties sticking out above jeans can come across as vulgar. Both are a matter of taste. In that respect, you can never do it right anyway.
Moreover, no one forces another to look or follow.
“Coaching usurpation”
I’ve noticed that it’s often fitness professionals who make these critical remarks about ‘insta fitgirls’. I understand that too. Not for nothing did I write about “fake naturals and false idols”. A similar article to Kevin’s, but aimed at men and the wrong example that fake naturals give. Although I don’t mind if well-known male fitness models show their abs every day, I do mind if they automatically become ‘fitness gurus’ because of it. So I fully agree with Kevin when I say that someone’s appearance doesn’t have to say anything about his/her ability to help you achieve a similar physique.
I can imagine that you experience this as a form of coaching usurpation. If you’ve been studying the workings of the body for years, but also the psychological aspects that are important for coaching, you don’t want to lose clients to a random six-pack or bubble butt.
We’ve discussed this many times with the development of the Fitsociety App. We hope to provide transparency as a search engine for online coaching, so you can evaluate coaches based on their knowledge rather than their appearance.
“Fitness is a lifestyle, but life is bigger than fitness”
Perhaps the aversion also comes from the fact that the fitness professional sees fitness as a goal or destination while fitness for many insta fitgirls (and boys) is just a means. I fully support the cliché that fitness is a lifestyle, but I also believe that life is bigger than fitness. I’ve been training seriously for about 20 years, have written hundreds of articles about training and nutrition, and have fitness fans in front of my camera every week. Yet I still find the election results more important than the Mr. Olympia results and happiness more important than gains.
For some, fitness is just a vehicle to achieve bigger goals; a large reach, a career as a model, actor or influencer, income. If that means that you have to kick over some ‘sacred fitness houses’ by performing a squat in a sexy version and using your looks; so be it.
Fly fitgirl, fly!
Because Kevin’s article dealt with two different topics, in my opinion, discussion mainly arose about the subjective, moral issue. This was at the expense of the message about not literally following the ‘examples’ some fitgirls give. Kevin guarded his profession as a coach, and I respect that, but when it comes to values, opinions will always differ in such a subject (as evidenced by the reactions).
Finally, I must note that I still believe that the term fitgirl should be banned. This group is so large and diverse that it is even discriminatory to lump all fitgirls together.
