Victoria Houghtalen is a first-year
intended political science major
from Noblesville, Indiana.
This past summer, I received my first ever training on how to lift weights. I learned technique, patterns and habits that would not only help me build muscle, but increase my cardio as well. And surprisingly, I actually enjoyed it, despite the fact that I am not traditionally a very sporty girl.
When I came to DePauw, I took my habits with me to Lilly. I did curls and squats like the rest of them. But as time went on, I felt this undying pressure to retire to the second floor and hit the treadmills. Besides, that’s where my friends were. And without assurance from my summer trainer, I lost confidence in standing out downstairs.
The fact of the matter is that females who are not in sports tend to work out on the second floor of Welch Fitness Center. Of course, there are exceptions to this observation. For those individuals, great job at setting a standard of nonconformity we should all aspire to. But all too often, the stigma that lies between the two floors of equipment doesn’t only cause a physical barrier but a psychological one as well.
In order to feel empowered and comfortable in themselves, women should be able to be comfortable in many spaces on campus. The gym has not been one of those places. It is my proposal that a voluntary Welch Fitness class should be added to the weekly schedule that would teach women how to exercise in proper technique. This class would be titled and centered on women’s weights.
This does not mean that we create a new corner of the gym, full of colorful little hand weights, to allow women free reign in another small portion of the space. Instead, it is my hope that the course will cause the mental barrier of the weight lifting equipment to cease. By physically taking a group of women to the center of bars and machines, the group members can empower one another while also learning proper technique.
Furthermore, I believe a component of the class should be dedicated to teaching these women how lifting weights does not cause you to have a “bulky” body. I think the stretch for the treadmill is in part because women often feel that lifting weights will cause them to have “masculine” statures. This misconception can be fixed by strengthening not only the body, but the mind as well.
This idea came to me because of personal experience. When I would lift at the gym, I would often have other females look at me. Soon after, they would approach me and ask if I could teach them to do it as well. After teaching women how to work weight machines on three separate occasions during my gym time, I knew it was time for a change. It still is time.
A beautiful soul and fellow classmate, Kinyanna Evans, shared an Audra Lorde quote with me one day. The quote says, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare.” Women on this campus need a place of comfort in which they can exercise true power over their own bodies while also exercise power over the status quo.
A paper petition and online petition have been started in response to this idea. In the first 8 hours, the cause gained 30 signatures of support from women in the DePauw student body. Most fitness classes I have been to have about 10 attendees, if even. Let’s stop talking and let’s start lifting.
