Female Workout Clothes

I took this picture while shopping with friends in Santana Row. We walked into Lululemon, which is a store that sells workout clothes. While walking around the store, I found that several of the workout outfits were “fashionable” and designed to make one look cute while exercising. I took this photo because it demonstrates a part of our cultural view of gender. It reflects the view that women are supposed to want to look cute at all times. Seeing the workout skirt, reminded me of when my mom bought me several outfits when I told her I would take tennis lessons with my brother. She was excited that I agreed to take tennis lessons, because it encouraged my brother to get exercise and it also meant that she could buy me tennis outfits. I came home from school one day to find an array of “cute” tennis outfits. She bought me a skirt, skort, purple shorts and even a tennis dress. I didn’t like the idea of wearing skirts to work out in. When I work out, I don’t think about looking cute. I work out to be healthy and tend to sweat and look gross. I didn’t think that wearing a cute outfit would make any difference. Work out skirts goes back to one of the issues of femininity listed in the text book, appearance still counts. Girls are taught that they have to be pretty, slim and well-dressed to be desirable in life. Girls also tend to be judged by their looks and thus some may believe that they have to look good all the time, even when working out or playing sports. In addition, female athletes are often judged based on their appearance more than their athletic ability. When a woman is playing sports, the commentators usually comment on her appearance and what she is wearing. News stories about female athletes often say things such as “Venus is sporting a cool new outfit” or “she has gotten back into shape.” However, stories about male athletes tend to focus on their abilities (120). This goes to show that our culture views men and women differently. It also shows that men are taken more seriously when it comes to sports. Our culture has set aside stereotypes for different genders and acts upon those stereotypes by creating things they think women will like. The designer probably thought that girls liked to always look cute, even while playing sports. Therefore, he/she designed that skirt.