Is masculinity a problem in college athletes?

After spending several hours observing specific behavior within the gym I decided to get the opinion of someone who also spends a chunk of his time in this setting. Participant 1, a 20 year old male sophomore from Florida, knows a thing or two about athlete behavior in the weight room as he was part of the staff in the spring and summer of 2015. When asked if there is a change in people's behavior while athletes are in the same setting, he noticed "men seem to be more cautious of the teams in the weight room more than women do." and that "women just go about their business, while the guys are sort of always looking over at the sports teams." This ties in perfect with why masculinity is so present in this setting. Whether it be lifting heavy weights, to wearing cutoffs to show their muscles, men are constantly trying to show their dominance to other men. When questioned if the environment changes when athletes are in the gym, participant 1 didn't hesitate to state "with the football and lacrosse teams, there is a big change in the environment just because there are so many players in the same setting at once and these teams are loudest of them all." With this factor in place, this aspect can make many intimidated. Masculinity is a big problem in these settings for non-athletes that don't live up to the ideal gym image regarding body type and muscularity, which ultimately makes it a disheartening environment for these people when they are working out around athletes.