Joey Swoll: “Be Kind” and End Harassment at the Gym
Fitness influencer Joey Swoll has become a popular figure on social media for his videos that call out women for labeling men “creepers” at the gym. His fans have celebrated him for what they believe is shutting down shaming behavior on social media, but some say he’s fueling misogyny online.[0]
Swoll, who brands himself as the “CEO of gym positivity,” recently gained attention for his online video defending a woman who had been fat-shamed for her gym clothes. He had a special message for her: “Women are harassed in gyms and it needs to stop, but you are not one of them. An act of kindness or a glance does not make you a victim.”[1]
However, a survey of 890 women who have experienced harassment at the gym found that the majority do not enjoy being stared at, flirted with or spoken to while working out.[2] Moreover, a survey from Run Repeat found that 56 percent of women reported facing harassment during their workouts.[3]
Recently, Swoll was called out by Nora Love, who had filmed an older man at her local gym who she claimed was leering at women, and shared the video to her small TikTok page. Swoll stitched her video to denounce her actions in them, and his video has been viewed over 6.2 million times.[0] But Love was quickly inundated with hateful messages and was forced to deactivate all her accounts, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even her Pinterest page.[0]
In response to the backlash, Swoll tweeted: “If you actually go to my page you’ll see I’ve done an equal amount of videos on men and women because gender has nothing to do with it. I have no agenda other than making the gym a safer place for EVERYONE. Period.”[0]
At the end of the day, Swoll urges us to be kind, tweeting “You never know someone’s story or what they’re going through.[4] Stop this.[4] Be Kind.
0. “A woman who was called out by fitness influencer Joey Swoll said she’s since been flooded with hate messages and death threats” Yahoo News Canada, 9 Feb. 2023, https://ca.news.yahoo.com/woman-called-fitness-influencer-joey-230110250.html
1. “Woman deletes her TikTok account after being called out by fitness influencer” AOL, 2 Feb. 2023, https://www.aol.com/entertainment/woman-deletes-her-tiktok-account-210019662.html
2. “I’m a hot gym girl – creeps stare at me but my trick stops them in their tracks, it goes against con…” The US Sun, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/7346846/gym-girl-conventional-advice-fitness
3. “Joey Swoll On Misogynistic Accusations: ‘Sad’ People ‘Use My Message to Push An Agenda I Don’t Agree With …” Fitness Volt, 11 Feb. 2023, https://fitnessvolt.com/joey-swoll-on-misogynistic-accusations/
4. ““It’s Not Illegal”: Joey Swoll Continues Criticizing Influencers for Targeting Innocent Old Men in Gym” EssentiallySports, 3 Feb. 2023, https://www.essentiallysports.com/its-not-illegal-joey-swoll-continues-criticizing-influencers-for-targetting-innocent-old-men-in-gym/
