Ethnography: The Gymnastics Community

Joyce Yen

Arizona State University

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Abstract

This essay is on the ethnography of the gymnastics community in college versus in a

private club or gym training to become elite. There are many various stereotypes and elements

that factor into the gymnastics community. This essay will explain all of the factors that play a

role in the mental aspect of the gymnastics community. Many people don’t understand that

gymnastics is not just about the flips on the beam and swinging around the bars. There’s a whole

other aspect to the sport that many people don’t understand until one were to become so involved

with the sport to fully become educated with everything that revolves in gymnastics. This essay

will depict and dissect a whole new perspective in the sport of gymnastics. Body image, eating

disorders, the mental aspect, and the insane conditions within the sport of gymnastics.

Keywords​: Gymnastics, mental aspect, body image

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For my ethnography, I decided to write about the gymnastics community. When I was

introduced to project two, I instantly knew I had to do my research on the Arizona State

University gymnastics team. Because Arizona State University has a gymnastics team program, I

knew that this would be an excellent opportunity for me to do research on a topic I have been

passionate about in my whole life.

As soon as I walked into the door of the gymnastics training center at ASU, I felt as if I

were at home myself, even though I was not even a part of the team. It felt like I was already a

part of the community. Everyone had such a friendly and sweet personality there, that anyone

who walked in and just saw the team, would immediately smile back and realize they were part

of something bigger. I remember looking around and seeing how everyone brought something

unique to the team. Not every single one of them were training all four of the events. Not every

single one of them were the same body type and none of them performed the same exact

gymnastics. Instead, individually, they all brought something special to the team. Whether, it was

high energy, a positive attitude, support and loud cheering, or just bringing some humor to one

another, each person made a special contribution to the team that wasn’t directly related to doing

actual gymnastics itself. It was not just all about the sport of gymnastics and how well they could

perform the skills needed to compete. It was a whole other culture, view, perspective, and vibe

that college gymnastics presented. The coaches were also constantly encouraging, cheering, and

providing positive feedback to the team. The whole time there was high energy and the kind of

camaraderie one wouldn’t expect from an individual sport like gymnastics.

Prior to observing college gymnastics, I had always thought and assumed that there was a

certain body type that all gymnasts have. Most people who watch the sport of gymnastics think,
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and expect that of gymnasts. Lean, muscular, small, short, no body fat, you name it. And for the

longest time I believed that too. I believed that just as every other competitive gymnast believed

it. I believed it and judged other gymnasts myself who didn’t have that body type and I did

everything I could to have that body type. If that meant I didn’t eat for seven to eight hours

straight to prepare for training, then I wouldn’t eat for seven to eight hours. If that meant I was

sucking in my stomach and squeezing every muscle in my body throughout the school day then I

would do that. I had always kept everything to myself, never complaining about my injuries or

my pain or what I was going through inside because I did not want to miss the opportunity to

compete or to disappoint my coaches. Although I was part of a private club team my whole life, I

was there to compete and win medals for myself. It was my pride, my sport, and my identity.

The Journal of Exercise Physiology has also done a study regarding female athletes and

the unreal want and need to appeal to the pressure society gives with a growing desire to be thin.

The study involved gymnasts and the constant need to exercise, and never wanting to eat fatty

foods. The study presented the culture of gymnastics and the pressure that coaches, judges, and

various audiences send to gymnasts to make them have disordered eating and other unhealthy

body composition issues.

All of this changed when I started watching collegiate gymnastics on the TV. I saw a

whole group of girls, some not even competing, but they were all just there- for each other. It

was no longer an individual sport. I was able to see how all of these girls from different

backgrounds, different body types, and different styles of gymnastics all came together to

represent one team. That’s when I realized that college gymnastics is so much more than just the
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sport of gymnastics. It’s a community. It’s not about winning medals for yourself. Everything is

based off and about the team.

When I went into observe and watch the ASU gymnastics team practice, I could instantly

tell that everyone there was putting in the work, staying focused, and energized for the team.

There was constant cheering, loud music, and one would definitely be able to feel the high

energy vibe going into it. It’s not like your typical elite gymnastics training facility center where

the girls have an occasional cheer here and there, the entire team is constantly cheering for each

other and saying phrases like, “Let’s go Devils!” “Keep it up ladies!”. The whole atmosphere is

very team based and you can definitely tell that it is a community by the way they talk, do their

practices, the way they all dress, and their mindsets. I remember when I was interviewing one of

the girls on the team, she had said, “College gymnastics is so different in so many great ways.

The team is closer, and you all have the same goals: graduate and do your best for the team in

gymnastics. It gives such a positive outlook on the sport and I love it so far.” Hearing her say

that as a freshman, really gave me a true sense and idea of how the team bonds with one another.

Most gymnasts entering into college are coming from either an elite gymnastics world, or

just a highly intense private club gymnastics facility center, where they are used to the harsh

judgement and constant restrictions from coaches, judges, and their own self perspective. The

culture behind college gymnastics really gives the gymnasts a unique, relaxing, and a much more

fun perspective to the sport.

College gymnastics gave a whole new perspective to me when I was able to observe the

type of community it preaches. There is no “one body type” or restrictions in the way you eat or

the way you look. Everyone is there at practice representing the team and putting in the work for
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the team, but also just being out there to have fun. That’s the type of community college

gymnastics presents to the public. That no one should have an eating disorder to feel like they are

“looking good” enough to compete and show their gymnastics to the judges. The sport of

gymnastics is known for this. In fact, stated from an article in FloGymnastics, “51% of the

gymnastics programs that responded reported this illness (eating disorders) among its team

members, “a far greater percentage than in any other sport.”” College gymnastics presents the

sport in a much more fun, exciting, and inclusive way, rather than focusing on the appearance

and weight of the athlete in order to perform their gymnastics.

The culture in college gymnastics gives a sense of fun, high energy, team spirit, and most

importantly a place that everyone feels included and a place of no judgement whatsoever. No one

is there to judge the way one of the gymnasts body is shaped versus another, no one is there to

compare, everyone is there just for the team itself, and that is what makes college gymnastics so

special.
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References

Ohashi, K. (2017) Athletic Body Shaming ​Dear Standards  

https://behindthemadnesssite.wordpress.com/category/athlete-body-shaming/ 

Weiber, R. (2013, May 16) ​The Touchy Topic of Gymnasts and Body Weight, Eating 

​ etrieved from  
Disorders, and Nutrition. R

https://www.flogymnastics.com/articles/5047002-the-touchy-topic-of-gymnasts-and 

-body-weight-eating-disorders-and-nutrition-part-1-of-4 

​ thletes and Eating Disorders. ​Retrieved from  

(2018). A

https://www.waldeneatingdisorders.com/athletes-and-eating-disorders-an-infograp 

h/ 

(April 2017). ​Body Image and Eating Disorders in Female Athletes of Different Sports.  

Retrieved from 
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=c769
23d7-4145-42f2-aa49-b67a61812677%40sessionmgr104 

 
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