Online Representation of Black Women in Fitness

The F Word with Julie Massiah

Julie Massiah is a PT and Group Fitness Instructor based in London.  In our Interview for The F Word’s Black History Month series, we discuss the online racial representation of Black females in fitness.

Julie took the leap of faith, leaving her corporate career to pursue her passion for fitness. Julie participates in CrossFit, having been introduced to it through a friend, and it was through CrossFit that she recognised her natural flair for teaching and coaching. Within a month of completing her qualifications, she was working as a gym PT and an Assistant Coach for a Boutique fitness studio. 

Julie’s first coaching role in boutique fitness was low paid, and her gym PT hours included a comprehensive cleaning rota, but she worked her way up to the premium boutique’s she is now scheduled in. Julie explains that throughout these low paying fitness jobs, she grew a ‘thick-skin’. Low pay initially diminished her self worth, and she had to work to overcome that.  Having come from a financially secure position in her corporate role, the culture shock moving into the fitness industry required a strong mindset.

‘If I didn’t enjoy what I was doing, I probably would have gone back to the corporate world, but I’d studied hard and was ready to change careers. Starting from where I did gave me time to figure out what direction I wanted to go, as there are so many options and opportunities in this industry. You have to start where you can, move forward and keep yourself going’.

Later in her career, Julie was invited to present at fitness events such as Balance and BeFit. At Balance Festival, she represented her studio with two other Black women, which she described as ‘Black Girl Magic’; a term coined by the Black female community to celebrate the true essence of Black girls and women globally. Accustomed to being one of only a few black females present, being part of a strong black female squad representing a reputable studio was a high in Julie’s career. 

‘In Fitness, you tend to see muscular Black male coaches represented fairly well, but dark skinned Black women coaches are not as visible. Even the female BME individuals in the marketing campaigns I have seen generally do not look like me’.

This reality can be described as a great shame. A shame for Black women who work relentlessly to bring studio concepts to life, to deliver excellent classes to gym goers and to uphold high standards, and yet despite all that brilliance, these Black women are faceless, invisible, forgotten and unappreciated in marketing and social media campaigns.  

Julie and I discussed that many studios simply don’t place enough value on their online racial representation, perhaps because they don’t see the importance of it. It may well be the case that marketing teams are underestimating the impact that inclusive representation has on consumer choice. As Julie explains:

‘If I was a client looking to go to a Fitness Studio, I think that I would appreciate seeing greater diversity in ad campaigns that showcased people of ALL races and ethnicities. I say this because everyone can benefit from seeing someone who looks similar to them; that can empathise with them and understand their cultural perspective both related and unrelated to fitness.  So, if those familiar faces aren’t seen in online content often, it could make people think that a particular studio is ‘not for them’.

But the harsh reality is, a lot of boutiques don’t focus energy into cultivating a diverse market and client base, which could be a factor in their underrepresentation of Black instructors and Black clientele. As much as studios harp on about diversity when under attack, many key players in the industry don’t take active, necessary steps to adopt inclusive methodologies because of their apathy towards diversity and inclusivity. Some companies make it their goal to seem diverse, as though the presence of Black faces in advertisements is a sort of PR exercise. The rare diamonds of the industry are those who make it their goal to be diverse because that’s what they believe in.

We took to Instagram to analyse the last twenty Instagram posts published by the key studios in the Boutique fitness space, focusing specifically on racial visibility. It was clear that studios often represent their White females (and sometimes mixed or ethnically ambiguous), but seldom their dark-skinned Black females (if they have any in their team at all). Julie opens up about her feelings towards the lack of online visibility for Black woman:

‘I would love to see brands promoting their product alongside dark skinned females.  Not just top athletes such as Dina Asher-Smith or Hollywood actresses like Lupita N’yongo, but maybe females similar to myself who work in the fitness industry. I do wonder what sponsors look for in a face for their brand and if they truly explore how diverse their ad campaigns are’.

Julie hypothesizes that she fits the narrative of Black women as ‘muscular’, ‘strong’ and ‘powerful’, rather than ‘petite’, ‘pretty’ and ‘feminine’. Thankfully, in the past decade, there has been a deliberate shift commercially to restructure the westernized definition of Beauty. We’re beginning to recognise athletic women and their strength as a form of beauty in itself. Commercially, perceptions of dark Black skin are also undergoing a process of amelioration. Take the make-up industry for example; it’s no longer acceptable to dismiss darker shade ranges in foundation collections, or promote new products without the presence of darker models. However, Colourism remains a fundamental issue and within the Boutique Fitness industry especially, we see ethnically diverse individuals of a lighter complexion represented far better than darker individuals such as Julie.

Historically, cameras were built by film technicians to optimise light skin because white skin was considered the baseline. It is understood that Kodak was only influenced to change the way that photography represented darker colours when chocolate and furniture companies were unable to take clear photos of their dark products. The inability to photograph black skin was never considered an issue at the time. It was Fuji in the mid 1990s that developed a way of capturing darker skin tones, and it was since then that Black skin was more visible in photography. Digital photography now integrates dual-skin tone colour-balancing capabilities, but in diverse lighting even modern day photographical technology struggles with darker skin. It’s no wonder that we’re still fighting to be visually represented online when an inherent bias in film and photography is yet to be corrected. It was only thirty years ago that camera’s physically couldn’t capture Black skin, so it seems we have a way to go before our visuals become an integral feature of the online fitness space. 

Does it affect you when you’re not represented online? 

‘Yes, it did at first, because I guess there weren’t many people I thought I could look up to, unless it was friends of mine who inspired me through their journeys or actually looking at myself and my own personal journey as inspiration. But there are a few Black female fitness professionals in America, who are more present online, so that helped.’ 

Julie concludes our interview by stating

‘I hope that I can be a good example to everyone, especially Black females coming into the industry, that regardless of visibility and representation issues, it’s still possible to create a meaningful life in Fitness. However, it’s my hope that racial inclusion in the fitness industry becomes widespread and that ALL shades of colour are represented equally.  It shouldn’t feel like a surprise when you see people of colour visible in online marketing campaigns’.

Here, Julie captures the essence of what The F Word’s Black History Month series aims to achieve. To encourage Black individuals to continue working hard, taking up space, creating impact and pursuing their goals, whilst also acknowledging the limitations placed on us by the powers that be, and striving to break down those barriers through constructive conversations. Julie continues to let her passion guide her, knowing that as the industry progresses, as will her recognition, opportunity and visibility.

You can find Julie in her Strength, Functional and Spin classes at Gymbox, in her HIIT classes at Digme Fitness, and on Instagram @mass_fitness_pt