Recently Tracy and I got an email from a new post doc at Western. Her name is Stephanie Coen and she works in the Geography department. The cool thing, and the reason she got in touch with us, is that she works on gender and spaces for physical activity. Her website says, “My research in health geography is driven by an overarching concern for how everyday social and material contexts matter for health and health equity. I am particularly interested in how taken-for-granted—and often unquestioned—features of our day-to-day environments become implicated in the production of health outcomes, behaviours, and inequities.”
We had a great lunch and talked about powerlifting. That’s Stephanie’s sport. And we talked about academic life in general. We also talked about her latest publication. It’s called, “It’s gym, like g-y-m not J-i-m”: Exploring the role of place in the gendering of physical activity.”
ABSTRACT: Although gyms are potentially sites for health promotion, they may also be places where gendered inequities in health opportunities emerge and are sustained. Our findings demonstrate that micro-level processes at the scale of the everyday exercise environment work to routinize gender disparities and differences in physical activity. Public health efforts to close the gender gap in physical activity must account for the socio-spatial processes that reproduce, as well as challenge, gender hegemony in everyday physical activity places such as the gym.
Her co-authors are Mark W.Rosenberg and Joyce Davidson.
One of the things I love about the blog are meeting researchers from around the university and further afield whose work connects them to the blog.
Philosopher, feminist, parent, and cyclist! Co-founder of Fit Is a Feminist Issue, co-author of Fit at Mid-Life: A Feminist Fitness Journey, published by Greystone Books.
View all posts by Sam B
Great post!
https://www.bluelabelsboutique.com
http://www.fashionnotfear.com
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing the link to the academic paper. I passed it on to my friend who is Director of the Univ of AZ student fitness center.
Thanks so much for sharing! I’d be delighted to chat with your colleague any time if they’re interested! 🙂