#Fitgirls & femininity - How female Millennials give meaning to fitness bloggers’ representations of femininity on social media

Fitness blogging seems to be a new social media phenomenon these days, as fitness bloggers excessively post pictures of their fit and toned bodies and write articles full of workout know-hows and recipes, to motivate others to live a healthy lifestyle as well. In this postfeminist, media-friendly, individualistic, consumer society, it is evident that fitness blogging becomes more and more prevalent, and that those who are often exposed to these images – female Millennials – might be influenced by fitness bloggers in their daily life, but perhaps also in their constructions of certain discourses, such as femininity. Nevertheless, discourses can change over time, and perhaps these fitness bloggers can portray themselves in such a way that challenges dominant discourses. Therefore, it would be interesting to see how dominant discourses surrounding femininity might be changing for female Millennials and if/how fitness bloggers can play a role in this sense. This research investigates how female Millennials give meaning to fitness bloggers’ constructions of femininity on social media. Four qualitative focus group interviews have been conducted, with a total of 21 participants. It can be concluded that the participants could be divided into three distinct groups according to their level of involvement with fitness blogs: fitgirls, moderate fitgirls, and non-fitgirls. It became evident that these three ‘types’ of participants employed different readings, as they gave different meanings to social media constructions of femininity as presented by fitness bloggers. It can be claimed that fitgirls probably draw from different discourses – since they gained more knowledge about and through fitness blogs – than moderate and non-fitgirls. Nevertheless, all participants noted that fitness bloggers in general often focus on appearance, which suits the premise of postfeminism. It was also evident that the participants liked the ‘ambiguous/negotiating’ category of pictures the best, as fitness bloggers showed ‘the real situation’ of them working out, and thus also communicate a message about ‘girlpower’. On top of that, it seems that the discourse surrounding femininity has changed among female Millennials, as muscularity is not necessarily associated with masculinity and is also seen as a preferred characteristic for women – being muscled looks beautiful and healthy. Lastly, it can be concluded that the very notion of ‘fitgirl’ has become a new stereotype in this postfeminist society.