Gym Ethnography Essay

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The gym is a place where a typical American college student goes to work out their bodies. Based on the fact that I personally could be considered a gym rat, a stereotypical name for someone who spends a lot of time in the work out area. This is partially by choice being on the swim team requires the strength training equipment that is available to our disposal in the gym. While I have been to the gym many times I haven’t really taken the time to take in the other people around me. Within this ethnographic exercise I will explore the college gym norms within Roger Williams University. My first step to this was planning out the days and times in which I would go to the gym. I decided to go at three different times on thee days. 9:00 am, 3:00 pm. and 6:00 pm. I would go into the gym and do my normal lifting workout for swimming. I’d be careful to take mental notes as to what other …show more content…

She decided to come to the gym and run on the treadmill. My first question was why did you choose to come to the gym at this time? She said I wanted to avoid the normal crowed that comes from 2-5. Also this is the only time I could come during the day that fits in with my schedule. The second question I asked was about the personal space why did you choose not to run directly next to someone and do you choose a machine based on personal space? Her response was “ Yes I do choose a machine based on personal space. I don’t like the feeling of someone watching over my machine and silently judging how fast or slow I am going.
The culture of the gym is slowly coming together just after two days of observations. The gym is primarily a male dominant place to do but in our college the only area that is completely dominant is the weight lifting area and that’s only during prime hours. Also on the note of personal space there is noticeably a tendency for both male and female to have a certain amount of space around them like a personal bubble.
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