On Saturday Night Live last weekend, comedian Shane Gillis sparked backlash after joking about women who wear shorts to exercise, calling them 'whores'. The comments, made on one of America's most-watched TV shows, drew groans from the audience, but Gillis doubled down, saying: 'There's no other way to describe — have you seen it? I've seen it. The shorts. Have you seen the shorts?'
Why the joke cuts deep
For many women, the joke hits a nerve. Kristina Beanland, a runner who wears shorts to exercise, says she does so because she wants to, to avoid overheating in 30°C heat, and because she likes how she looks in them. She argues that 'it's just a joke' isn't a good enough defence, asking: 'Where's the punchline? Jokes are meant to be funny.'
The comments come amid research showing women often avoid exercise for fear of judgement. Sport England's This Girl Can campaign found that 86% of women aged 16 to 34 experienced at least one form of physical, verbal, non-verbal or online harassment or intimidation in a fitness or leisure centre in the last three years. Additionally, 72% of women change their outdoor activity routines during winter, according to This Girl Can.
A personal trainer's perspective
Megan Joy McDermott, 34, a PT and CrossFit competitor who works out five to nine times per week, tells Metro she feels self-conscious at the gym despite her experience. She recalls feeling nervous to wear a tank top, and being told she was 'muscly' or 'big'. One person even asked if she was trying to 'encourage body positivity' because she's not super small.
McDermott notes that men can 'rock up in basically their pyjamas, or take their shirt off completely, and there's no judgement whatsoever'. She says 'exposure therapy' helped her become more confident, and she chose to lead by example: 'I thought that, if by wearing a tank top, shorts or brightly coloured clothes, it might help someone else feel comfortable enough to show up, then it's worth it.'
She stresses that Gillis's comments are not representative of the fitness industry, calling them 'inexperienced, shallow' and from a minority. Her advice: 'Wear the damn shorts.' She adds: 'Health and fitness is for our longevity, it's for stronger bones, longer lives, to pick up our kids, to run after them, to be able to do cool things. You can wear whatever you want.'
