What's a 'Pilates girl' and why are some men so obsessed?

Pilates is having a moment.

But for better or worse? It depends who you ask.

"Pilates," specifically the term "Pilates girl," has entered the cultural zeitgeist. The same 100-year-old workout that has long been popular among celebrities, was declared dead in 2015 and experienced a massive resurgence years later with boutique fitness studios like BodyRok, Club Pilates and Solidcore, some of which are not even traditional Pilates, rather "lagree" or hybrid "body sculpt" workouts. But the Pilates conversation of the moment is less about the workout itself and more about those who partake in it.

"If your girl goes to Pilates," social media influencer Christian Bonnier said in a video with over 1 million views, "wife her up immediately."

"Pilates is one of the most wholesome things ever. If your girl is going to Pilates, she’s probably staying in on the weekends," he continued. "She went with her friends, didn't get hit on by any creepy guys, and got a great workout in."

Bonnier is far from the first to express this viewpoint, though his post did spark plenty of online discourse. On a March 26 episode of the podcast "Call Her Daddy," "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" cast member Jessi Draper said prior to filing for divorce from her husband, he told her to "start doing Pilates every single day." Weeks prior, a clip from the popular reality dating show "Love is Blind" went viral after contestant Chris Fusco, 33, told his new fiancée, 38-year-old infectious disease doctor Jessica Barrett, that he was lacking physical attraction for her. His usual type, he said, "does Pilates every day."

For many in the Pilates community, the recent fixation has been bizarre. The workout has become wrapped up in gender expectations and online misogyny, experts say. But some yogis, researchers and Pilates enthusiasts say the recent attention doesn't reflect what's really going on inside the fitness community.

Who gets to be a 'Pilates girl'?

Some of the Pilates promotion has been tied to the manosphere − a digital collection of websites, videos and social media that promote male supremacy and advocate for traditional gender roles.

The manosphere has a history of championing an "ideal type of woman," says Mariel Barnes, a public affairs professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison who researches gender equality and the manosphere.

Many men in these communities will argue the ideal woman falls within specific parameters. She’s attractive, slender, she doesn’t date a lot or have sex with multiple men, and she’s preferably under 30, Barnes explains.

The stereotype of the "Pilates girl" isn’t too far off from the above. The "Pilates girl" or "Pilates princess" is fit, likely lean, wears matching Lululemon or Alo sets and wakes up early for her morning classes. Maybe she also subscribes to the "clean girl aesthetic" or "soft living" and neutral make-up looks.

These overlapping stereotypes makes "Pilates girl" a fitting code word for the type of woman the manosphere is looking for, Barnes explains. And once a term starts popping up in pop culture, she adds, it’s likely already circulated in the manosphere on Reddit or Discord message boards. Terms like "alpha male," "sigma," and "looksmaxxing" are all prominent examples of manosphere lingo that's gone mainstream, to the point where their internet roots are unknown to most users.

"They use it as a dog whistle, or a code word, because if they said the things that they actually want in a woman, they would come across as bad people," she says.

When Barnes first started researching the manosphere in 2014, it was mainly isolated to dedicated blogs and secluded corners of the internet. People who wanted to engage with that content had to actively seek it, she says. But now, with the wide reach of social media and podcasters, these ideas are reaching a more general audience. Someone who perpetuates ideas rooted in the manosphere, such as asking your partner to do Pilates daily, may not even realize the misogyny behind that sentiment, Barnes says.

"It doesn’t mean they have bad intentions," she says. "It’s just become part of the zeitgeist, which is not great."

It's not just women who do Pilates either, though in most cases the classes are more targeted toward women, says Jessica Starr, founder of Sage Hot Yoga + Pilates in Cincinnati. In any given day at her studio, there's likely two male students out of 60 women, she estimates.

"It's definitely marketed gender-specific," she says. "Male versus female fitness goals can be different too... it's not going to be used for strength building or resistance training because that's not what it's traditionally for."

Pilates may zone in on traditionally female-focused fitness goals: Posture, core strength, pelvic floor health, flexibility and muscle toning − but not building muscle.

Understanding the evolution of Pilates

In the 2000s, Pilates was largely delivered via private sessions, especially to use traditional reformer equipment. Even culturally, people still confused Pilates for yoga, or didn't know what it looked like at all.

By the early 2010s, group fitness classes started booming in major cities. ClassPass, a popular group fitness booking platform, was founded in 2013. That same year, couple Heather Andersen and Brion Isaacs co-founded New York Pilates. Their goals were simple: lower the cost barrier, turn Pilates from a solitary practice into a communal one and provide classes that focused on traditional toning and mobility Pilates exercises. They promoted their studio on Instagram − pulling in friends, DJs, creatives and bloggers to spread the word.

Isaacs says they've witnessed the bust and boom of the fitness economy, with studios shutting down or fitness hubs moving across town.

The spike in attention Pilates is having now, Isaacs hopes, will be a good thing for Pilates overall.

"Our prediction is, you're gonna end up with the people who really love it, not the people who are here because it's a trend," he says. "But the cool thing is that everyone's going to learn what Pilates was in (this moment), and so more people are going to be able to decide if they want to do it."

What the 'Pilates girl' stereotype gets wrong

The stereotypes around "Pilates girls," dating preferences or perceived femininity reflects outsider assumptions, instructors say, not lived reality inside the studios.

"The irony is that Pilates is intrinsically very inclusive because It's modifiable," Andersen says. "People have these ideas about what Pilates makes you, but actual Pilates is warm and welcoming and will modify for you no matter where you are... and that is the antithesis of the idea of it being like, for being skinny."

For women, depending on their wants and values, this discourse could either push them toward or away from the Pilates lifestyle, Barnes says. At Starr's studio, you'll find some of the stereotypical "Pilates princesses," but not those into the trad wife aesthetic, she says.

"We're not going to attract those people," she explains. "But right next to that person that does have the $200 outfit on that is rushing to go pick up her kids from car line, might also be somebody that's trans or a med student and they're practicing Pilates in a crop tank top, their nipples are pierced and they're in booty shorts."

As far as Pilates goes, those inside the community want to block out any unnecessary discourse.

"I just hope that some of the social media comments, or things that are being portrayed out there, don't take away from the positive impact that it can have," Starr says. "I don't think it reflects what's going on in the community at all."