The Evolution of the Fitness Consumer

For decades, the marketing industry has targeted the female body ranging from a woman's hygiene to the size of her waist. The industry has set specific body ideals to define a woman's beauty and in turn, has negatively impacted women's physical and mental health. For my thesis I researched the advertising and marketing industries over the past century and the pressures placed on women to achieve perfection at the cost of their health. Beginning in the late 1800s with the formation of the fitness industry up until today, I explore the series of shifts in the fitness industry through the years from exercises as a leisure activity to intense, necessary workouts to achieve a certain body type. Since the late 1800s, the female body has been further objectified and amplified with models on magazine covers wearing clothing that expose petite bodies with airbrushed skin. These constant pressures cause women to take drastic measures such as eating disorders and excessive exercise to achieve the unrealistic body ideals marketing sets. From magazine covers, mannequins in stores, and society as a whole, women are scrutinized for their body type if they don't fit the mold of the mannequin. In the 21st century, a shift has emerged as female fitness consumers have begun to redefine femininity as they refuse to be defined by the number on the scale, but rather the weight they can lift in the gym. Exercise should never be a punishment, but rather a celebration for what the body could do. The last chapter of my thesis is focused on the female fitness consumer's mental shift from working out to be skinny to working out to be strong and how they're demanding marketing to pivot their focus on the female body. The chapter also takes up the subject of The Body Positivity Movement which is currently inspiring women to be proud of their curves and practice exercises to enhance their way of life not punish themselves for eating something "unhealthy." Strong is the new sexy and the marketing industry is increasingly being forced to make a change.