The Gym Is Apolitical

Fitness is more than what some make it out to be

“Gym Bros are More Likely to be Right-Wing Assholes, Science Confirms” – VICE headline.

“Getting fit is great – but it could turn you into a rightwing jerk” – Guardian headline.

‘MSNBC thinks you’re a nazi if you work out lmaooo’ – Elon Musk tweet.

As someone who has been lifting for over seven years, has competed in bodybuilding, and would recommend no activity more than physical exercise, headlines and comments like these disturb me. Not only because those who wish to perpetuate a culture war have twisted to partisan ends what should be an apolitical activity, but also because, whether gym bros are right-wing or not, I have always found the gym to be an incredibly welcoming community. Nevertheless, I am aware that my experience is far from many people’s perception. And, given that a study from Brunel University found a correlation between muscularity and having less egalitarian socioeconomic beliefs, this perception of the gym as being dominated by right-wing males has some statistical backing.

I have a few things to say about this. Firstly, the gym should be an apolitical space where all are welcome. Working out is mentally, physically, and socially beneficial, and headlines like those above serve only to exacerbate the anxieties that beginners already feel when starting their fitness journeys. 

Secondly, not all gym bros are right-wing and not everyone who leans right is far-right. I say this partly to alleviate fears that the gym is some 24/7 Republican National Convention. It’s not. The Brunel results came from one study with a sample size of 171, and no article reporting on it even cited the strength of the correlation. Furthermore, while the left views the right as the party of hate, the right views the left as the party of shame. Conservatives are not all ‘assholes’ and ‘jerks,’ and headlines like those above serve only to sow division and make those right-of-centre double down on their beliefs. A large part of why young men have swung right in recent years is a general feeling from the left of hostility and apathy towards their struggles. 

According to WIRED, this has created an opportunity for right-wing content and the fitness content packaged with it to weaponise ‘the real-world crisis that many young men are facing.’ In recent years, the far-right has worked to align motivation for and the benefits of lifting weights with what they tout as ‘conservative values.’ Influencers like Andrew Tate have encouraged young men to use the gym to take control of their lives and become strong and disciplined. Yet, importantly for Tate, they must then use that strength and discipline to dominate women and defeat their fellow man in a ruthless climb to the top, during which they work sixteen-hour days to accumulate vast sums of wealth and material possessions.

Although it seems absurd that a desire to improve one’s physique and gain discipline could lead one to such a sexist, materialistic, and frankly lonely worldview, the mechanism by which it happens is simple. 

First, influencers observe that many young men are struggling, with suicide being the biggest killer of men under 45, according to the BBC, and this makes them easily exploitable. They then espouse the gym as a way to deal with these struggles. Since physical exercise is well-known to boost mental health, the young men inevitably feel better. They begin to trust the influencer and associate positive emotions with watching them. Thus, when the influencer combines working out with views about “traditional masculinity,” young men are more likely to believe that, too. Eventually, the lines are blurred and the benefits of going to the gym become conflated with the ‘benefits’ of re-embracing masculinity. 

Clearly, this is a cruel and exploitative practice. And yet, it is also avoidable; for what this process really signals is a sense of desperation and a crying out for positive male role models. These role models need not be political — in fact, they shouldn’t be — but representatives of a decent and welcoming community, and how strength and discipline can be used for good, to enrich one’s own life and others.’ They should show that the gym has nothing to do with being right-wing, and that being prejudiced and materialistic has nothing to do with masculinity. 

Illustration from Wikimedia Commons