An Australian fitness app creator with more than 15 million followers on Instagram alone has spoken out about the sexualisation of the fitness influencer industry as she sets her focus on setting a healthy example for her daughter.
SWEAT app creator Kayla Itsines recently spoke out about a trend across social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok, where fitness videos are filmed from revealing angles.
The health-conscious mum said she had started unfollowing a lot of accounts because she felt uncomfortable scrolling beside her daughter.
“I literally got off Instagram and TikTok so many times ... the fitness industry has become so sexualised and it’s this angle people are filming from that is just not what I want to see when I’m having my morning coffee,” she said.
“I know that particular angle gets likes and it gets engagement and I know you want to advertise your booty program,” she added, the most common tactic is to place the camera behind the influencer to capture the back and rear.
“But I think for me it’s more because I have a daughter and I’m scrolling and she’s sitting next to me and ... I don’t want you looking at another girl from that angle.
“That is not something that I want.”
Itsines said she was trying to be a good role-model for her daughter, which meant no drinking, no drugs, no smoking, and no highly sexualised content.
The trouble is, this type of content is becoming harder to avoid as influencers sexualise work-outs for likes and engagement.
A quick perusal of fitness videos on social media platforms, especially for glute workouts, reveals a number of borderline inappropriate videos, with some crossing a boundary into what could be described as adult content.
Online and in-store, fitness fashion outlets promote clothing that sits with the trend—with websites describing in precise detail why women should wear revealing gym gear that hugs the body, leaving little to the imagination.
One particular item that has become widely popularised is a type of bike pant that is stitched specifically to be more revealing.
Many of the women in the social media videos don that style.
Itsines is aiming to be a force for positive change.
“I’m working on my glutes at the moment, I’m just not filming from that angle,” she said.
“By the end of the year, I’m going to have what I deem as great looks from my body but I’m not ever going to show you that angle. It just doesn’t need to be there.”
Itsines said she wasn’t being a hater, just a mum.
