Week 8

The main theme that I have seen through my research is that working out and being part of a gym is more about body image than having a healthy lifestyle.  I have found hundreds of sites and magazine ads that advertise numerous supplements that promise a muscular body or instant weight loss.  Also, from conversations and interviews with people in my site, that seems to be the case.  I have chatted with men in weightlifting chat rooms and none of them have any reservations about telling me what they think of themselves, which is typically that they are good looking and strong, but would like to be even bigger.  Only the women that I have talked to express that their workouts are for either sheer enjoyment or healthy weight loss.  After eight weeks of this project I feel much more like an insider to this subculture.  After about six weeks, I decided to begin my own workouts to see if I experience any of the things that my informants tell me about.  Now, I understand the feeling of accomplishment after a workout that some have expressed feeling, but after I started these workouts, I began to notice more things about my body that I was unsatisfied with, so I can also identify with that aspect.  So, I can definitely say that my position has changed from the start of this project to this point.  I went into my research very curious about many things, and now that I am experiencing them for myself, I’m beginning to have a better understanding of my subculture.