“We don’t do that stuff (physical activities) – I mean, look at us, we’re queer and neurospicy.”  They said it lightly, but I also couldn’t tell if they were admonishing me with a light scoff, as they implied that their queer and neurospicy identities were incompatible with physical activity.  My partner and I had been engaged in initial pleasantries with a predominantly queer group of friends who were well established with each other and new to me.  What do you do for work? What do you do with your time?  What’s your gender and sexuality?  Well, I’m queer, gender fluid, pansexual, neurospicy AND I happen to enjoy hiking, weight lifting, birdwatching walks, walking the dog, rock climbing, running … wait, how queer am I really if these are things I enjoy?  At least, this seemed to be the unspoken message. 

Part of me is hesitant to even share my thoughts and factoids on physical fitness in queer identifying populations – I’ve found it can be surprisingly tense and even divisive.  I have been lightly admonished and perhaps even marginalized within a few queer groups for not meeting that group’s vision of a queer person simply by leaning towards a more physically active lifestyle.  So, with that being said, want to acknowledge that I’m not passing judgement on other queer people who are less physically active … and no I don’t think I’m better than any of my queer friends who embrace different lifestyles, whether by preference or health limitations.   

 I do think there are also a lot of very real social factors, discrimination, bullying and even legislation that adds to the real perpetuation of 2SLGBTQ+ groups being less fit than the general population as a whole.  Being a physical therapist taught me that being physically active is not just a matter of willpower – there is such an intricate web of factors woven into our stories surrounding the development of our relationships with physical fitness and overall well being. 

Merging Minority Identities with Fitness in Edmonton, Alberta

I’ve met a lot of other queer people on the road who are recognizing the dearth of health-oriented spaces that are open to and inclusive of 2SLGBTQ+ populations.  Some of these individuals are taking some intensive action to do something about it.  They are changing the stories we tell ourselves about queer identities in fitness spaces.   Toni and Zita are two of these people, and part of the inspiration for this post as I reflected on a meet-up with them.  

Zita sent me a last minute invite to check out their gym in Edmonton, Alberta.  She and Toni were holding a staff get together right before a Friday night training.  Ooo, I loved gym visits and seeing what other people were doing with their fitness spaces, but I was also so tired with the invite coming at the end of a 2,300 km stretch of driving from the Yukon.  I was grabbing my first night of lodging on the road after more than two weeks of car camping through Alaska, the Yukon and the most remote parts of British Columbia.  My ETA in Edmonton after 3 long driving days through northern Canada’s thick wildfire smoke was literally within an hour or two of their meeting – talk about impeccable timing!  Or perhaps not so much, since I missed most of their staff social getting stuck in city traffic, but they still allowed me to jump into their staff training and introduce myself. 

Zita sold me on a quick drop-in when she mentioned that many of their team members were queer, and that their business models have been built on the need to have safe fitness spaces for marginalized groups.  What a simple concept, but one had been surprisingly absent from many of my workplaces in healthcare/fitness.   

The mission stated on their website, Action Potential Fitness, sums up really well what I learned about the space they have created: “To provide high-quality fitness and health services that promote self-acceptance, self-compassion, and self-celebration in all aspects of physical, psychological and social well-being.”    It’s a mission statement that could easily be applied to the website of any gym or physical therapy clinic.  The difference is that Toni, Zita and their team truly take “ALL aspects of physical, psychological and social well-being” to another level.    They keep this front and center every day as they invite people of all genders, abilities, colors and cultures into their space, AND acknowledge how those individual differences in our backgrounds affect how we think about and approach health and fitness.  

Toni ducked out of their staff training with me, and gave me a tour of their gym, talking passionately about the services their business offers.  They offer training that ranges from semi-independent programs to fully supported personal training programs.  Their workout space might appear simplistic, however is simultaneously equipped with everything you need for a complete and holistic program.  As a transgender, nonbinary person, Toni is particularly passionate and skilled in helping gender diverse individuals who are also navigating the joys and challenges that can come with gender transition.  We had a chance to work on some photos while I was here too – check out Toni’s story later! 

In the other room, Zita taught a program that she spearheaded – a Framework for Trauma Informed Fitness.  With my background being in physical therapy realms that often sidelined acknowledgement of trauma while working with traumatized people (mostly military populations) I was intrigued and asked if I could stay for their staff training too. Much of Zita’s passion focuses on neurodivergency and the recognition that stress, trauma and social inclusion have in fitness behavior.  So much of our trauma is also largely stored in our bodies, but is often neglected in spaces that work with our bodies. 

Toni and Zita’s business has not surprisingly been booming since COVID lockdowns were lifted.  When I met with them last year, they had a waitlist for their services.  Their set of interests and skills compliment each other well, in a space that is so needed and wanted by queer people and other marginalized populations. 

Why are Intersections between Queerness and Fitness Important?

Queer Youth and Fitness

A study I came across that is now a decade old (2014) actually found that adolescents who are sexual minorities are 46-75% less likely to participate in team sports than heterosexual peers.  Sexual minorities in the study also performed about 1.2 – 2.6 hours/week less of moderate to vigorous physical activity.   These numbers blow my mind, but also match up with the reality I’ve seen in fitness and healthcare spaces. 

 What does this say about how socially safe it feels for queer kids to participate in team sports as well as other physical activities?  Is there a higher chance they will be victimized in these groups or are anticipating victimization?   One of the study’s statements sums up my initial thoughts on their numbers well: “Team sports can be a major context for socializing and reinforcing homophobia due to Western cultural expectations related to athleticism, gender norms, and sexual orientation.”   

And then, there is the debate of whether transgender children should be allowed to play on sports teams at all … that’s another whole rabbit trail of conversation that I won’t follow for now.  I do want to acknowledge it though, as it is a particularly damaging focus point of legislators.  Is there any way to make underage, gender minorities feel more excluded from fitness spaces than writing it into law? 

Queer Adults and Fitness

How do these numbers and disparities look as we grow into adulthood?   We don’t have tons of robust research as compared to other demographics, but what we do know doesn’t look much better.  A review published in 2024 that covered 30 studies & articles found that transgender youth were less than half as likely to participate in physical activity as their cisgender peers.  They also found these disparities carried forward into populations of transgender college students and particularly adult transgender women.  These disparities are lessened in transgender people (masc, femme and non-binary people) who are able to pursue gender affirming healthcare.

The way that our physical fitness cultures (i.e. gym cultures, various sports, etc) shape our perceptions of what our lifestyles as queer people should look like carries over into adulthood.   It might be more controversial to say that I think these aspects of our fitness cultures even shape the stories that we, as LGBTQ+ people, tell ourselves about the images and queer stereotypes we should fit. 

Final Thoughts

So, why can’t we do that “stuff,” that physical activity and fitness stuff?  If we are neurospicy?  If we are queer?  If we’ve suffered life changing traumatic events?  The way gender plays out in our spaces that host physical activity has evolved over generations, and unfortunately still has not evolved to be inclusive.  There are plenty of exceptions, and there are a lot of 2SLGBTQ+ people and allies actively pushing for change and creating blended, inclusive fitness spaces.   However, the social dynamics often perpetuated in our physical fitness spaces have created an ongoing, complex set of health crises in LGBTQ+ populations, that exceeds even the typical sedentary health crises of the general heteronormative American and Canadian populations.   Change starts with acknowledging these disparities exist and how they are playing out within our queer communities and our intertwined fitness spaces and cultures.