I heart kickboxing: Emily Jacobsen

My friends weren't the least bit surprised when my status informed them I was taking a kickboxing class.. probably because I do enjoy kickboxing (turbo-kickboxing type of aerobics). I do pilates more than turbo, but both are in the same workout genre and thats the kind of gym rat I am! I love taking the classes at golds gym because there is an instructor (no excuse to say I don't know what to do) and other people in the class (automatic competition)!

Regardless, I do believe that gender codes are very "real", or as real as anything else viral. No matter how many times I ask my boyfriend to come to pilates, he will not come, because it's labelled as feminine. However, I have worked out with him and done his lifting workouts before, and nobody skipped a beat... why the difference? I am not saying that guys always have the most limited spectrum of available activities/styles etc, but I do notice these type of instances a lot. I can wear my hair however, boys have a typical standard. I can wear any color, boys should shy away from pastels (usually). I could not workout and be skinny and be totally socially acceptable, boys often feel obligated to workout or face looking like a pansy. However, I am still marked when I do these things, but the option isn't that or death. There are several scenarios that go the other way. Boys don't have to wear make up, girls feel like we do. Boys can weigh more with less criticism, girl's will be criticized. The list goes on, and the scales keep turning, so I guess its fair to say we have socially constructed gender norms, but quite real they seem.