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Shane Gillis Didn’t Create The Problem With Women’s Gym Culture. He Exposed It.
Shane Gillis made a joke about women’s gym clothes on “Saturday Night Live,” and apparently it hit a nerve. I’ve been going to the gym most of my life, and I can tell you his joke hit the mark. Women wearing next to nothing at the gym, filming themselves and then shaming men who dare to glance in their direction has become all too common.
And judging by the outrage, Gillis struck a nerve.
“I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like whores now,” Gillis joked during his monologue. He went on to give a rather graphic description of those bright, artificial-bait-colored shorts, pulled so tight they might as well be painted on.
It sounds a little too detailed, but anyone who’s been to a gym in the last few years knows exactly what he means. Pair those shorts with a sports bra, and you’ve got what has practically become the standard gym uniform.
Gillis also joked about women filming TikToks at the gym and getting offended if a man so much as glances their way.
He’s right about this, too. I’ve watched gyms turn into social media studios, with tripods, cameras, and women filming themselves between sets. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to maneuver around someone’s camera just to finish my workout. Some even post strangers in the background and shame them for looking, the exact behavior internet sensation Joey Swoll has become known for calling out. A public gym is not your personal film set, and the rest of us definitely didn’t sign a release.
Between the revealing clothes and constant filming, the gym has become as much about attracting attention as getting a workout. Women of all ages, including wives, mothers, and teenage girls, are participating in this trend. Frankly, we’ve lost our sense of modesty and perhaps some self-respect.
I can’t pretend I’ve always gotten this right myself.
I grew up in the gym with a mother who was a bodybuilder, and eventually began competing in figure competitions myself. When I appeared on “The Bachelor,” I had just finished competing, and fitness was practically my entire personality on the show.
Afterward, I got caught up in chasing likes in a sad attempt to extend my 15 minutes of fame. I posted workout photos and shared more of my body online, hoping to stay relevant. Eventually, I hated the attention I’d been chasing. I still loved working out, and the satisfaction of seeing results, but I no longer wanted strangers’ approval.
As my relationship with God evolved, I began questioning why I felt the need to show so much of myself to others. I realized I could appreciate the body I had worked hard to build without needing strangers to admire it.
That conviction changed how I dressed, what I posted online, and how I carried myself in other areas of my life.
I didn’t stop loving my body. I stopped believing everyone else needed to see it.
Somewhere along the way, showing more skin became a sign of empowerment, while choosing to cover up was treated as insecurity. I couldn’t disagree more. Modesty doesn’t mean working out in a burlap sack. You can wear cute, flattering clothes and look great without putting everything on display.
I wish more women recognized their God-given worth, especially mothers raising the next generation.
I’ve seen teenagers at the gym wearing almost nothing while filming themselves, with their mothers right there, apparently approving their outfits. I’ve also seen wives and mothers posting workout videos and photos that leave little to the imagination.
Now, flexing in skin-tight clothing, sumo squats and exaggerated arched backs during kickbacks, all filmed from deliberately provocative camera angles, are perfectly acceptable so long as they’re passed off as fitness content. Let’s not pretend those camera angles are necessary for a workout. They’re not much more than thirst traps.
As a Christian and a mother of two daughters, I want my girls to grow up knowing their confidence comes from Christ, not the attention they receive for showing off their bodies. There’s a difference between simply getting attention and attracting the right kind.
Dressing provocatively may turn plenty of men’s heads, but that doesn’t mean those men want to know you, respect your faith, or build a marriage with you. If you’re looking for a man who values modesty,
commitment and faith, it’s worth considering whether you’re reflecting those same values yourself.
Gillis didn’t invent this culture. He made a joke about something many of us have watched get completely out of hand. And judging by the massive outrage, he exposed just how widespread the problem has become. The joke isn’t what needs to change. The culture does.
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Jillian Anderson King is a former Washington Redskins Cheerleader Ambassador and ABC’s The Bachelor and The Bachelor in Paradise contestant. She’s a Mombassador for Moms for America, an ambassador for Turning Point and Turning Point Faith, and a proud Christian Conservative mother and wife. Jillian is also the founder of The Kings Firm, a strategic communications firm.
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