Award Date

5-1-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

First Committee Member

Rebecca Rice

Second Committee Member

Natalie Pennington

Third Committee Member

Tara McManus

Fourth Committee Member

Jennifer Pharr

Number of Pages

77

Abstract

Women are less likely than men to participate in recommended levels of physical activity. As gyms are built around exercise, this research sought to understand if women’s gym participation is limited, due to the space communicating messages of exclusion. Semi-structured interviews with seven women participants led to the discovery of three themes surrounding women’s experiences in the gym setting: Comfort and confidence in the space stem from self-perceived levels of attractiveness, women treat the space as communal to better understand how to navigate it, and organizational spaces can communicate messages of class and socioeconomic differences. Recommendations for future research included minimizing feelings of intimidation and polarization in recreational spaces, particularly in terms of gender and class.

Controlled Subject

Exercise for women;Physical fitness centers;Women's rights

Disciplines

Communication

File Format

pdf

File Size

1383 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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Communication Commons

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