Flirty Girl Fitness

I was rushing back to my room in Tinsley Hall one night after spending WAY too much time working on my Statistics homework.  Once I walked in, I hear this loud sensual music coming from the main lounge, and of course, when there is good music playing, I must go and see what is going on.  I poked my head through the door to find my fellow Resident Assistant, Jasmine, holding a program for her all-girl floor and the girls were all dancing on chairs – a site I did not expect to see.  It wasn’t long until I was noticed by the sweaty, dancing first-years and was greeted with screams saying ‘GEORGES, YOU HAVE TO SEE THE ROUTINE’ and ‘THIS IS THE BEST WORKOUT EVER!’  It turns out they were dancing to Flirty Girl Fitness Chair Dance, and they were loving it.  Never in my life have I seen a group of young women so pumped and energized in a single room. 

This was the routine the girls were dancing to!

All of the girls were supportive of one another and really into the workout.  After working in the building for over a semester, I was aware of cliques that have formed, but if someone were to just meet the girls at this program, they would not have been able to tell which ones were closer than the others because of the feeling of connectedness in the room.  Of course, there was hesitation at first and some of the residents needed to feel comfortable.  They either were towards the back or just not completely into the dance moves, but the other residents were aware of this.  They encouraged each other to not hold back and start dancing.   Soon, everyone was pumped and shaking their whole bodies!  I know the program was for the girls floor, but I hate gender roles and expectations, so I CLEARLY had no hesitation when I joined in on the fun.  I work out and run daily, but let me tell you, this 'dance' was intense.  I only did it for the last 15 minutes or so and I left dripping in sweat. (Props to the girls on the second floor of Tinsley for your intensity and helping me master the routine!)

A little snapshot of me dancing at the program :)

The program had a lot of interesting components.  There was obviously the community interaction component where the girls were put in a situation where they are encouraged to feel comfortable with one another.  This would correlate to them continuing to build trust and respect.  Dancing in front of people is a very daunting task for some people so being able to do that with 40 other people that you live with really breaks down walls and barriers.  It also got girls who aren’t already close to actually hang out and interact.  The next component was the idea of promoting body image and self-concept.  People come in all different shapes and sizes and the fact that people are encouraged to fit a certain look, is a bizarre concept for me to understand.  Jasmine’s program really helped bring to the girls’ minds that everyone should feel confident and comfortable in their skin and comparing themselves to others is not healthy.  I can guarantee you that every girl in that room felt beautiful, confident, and flirty!  This confidence is key to happiness and I really felt that girls left the room feeling better than ever.  I find that it is really important to not only promote a positive body image, but to promote that there is no 'right' role that a girl should live up to.  I'm a feminist at heart, so I believe that women should be encouraged to fight against the pressures and expectations society forces on them, and that they should be the person they choose to be.  As a resident assistant, I am definitely going to have a program like this in the future, but not just for girls.  I think every people of every gender could benefit and love this!