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On one of the side topics, I too used to be intimidated about going to the gym because I assumed that everybody was laughing at me (on the inside at least).
Then when I really started to get fat I started paying for a private trainer and was at the gym all the time with my trainer (in the Lou Ferrigno body type, not the Bruce Jenner type). So this bought me honorary membership into the muscle-bound portion of the membership (though I never got as thin as I wanted I did get a lot stronger). Anyway, it was interesting to see how they interacted with the gym:
Namely they give not a fvck what other people are wearing (and the true gym rats wear some of the most appaling stuff in the world). If they bitch about you it will be because you're hogging machines or weights. If they laugh at you it will be because they know you're putting a lot of effort into a pointless (or harmful) exercise (though more often they'll offer suggestions if you seem remotely open to it).
So, if you dress up for the gym don't do it because you're afraid of what all the muscly men will think. I have no idea if the other women are paying more attention.
I remember one time years ago I was driving somewhere and a very large woman was running (or rather, waddling) around Lake Merritt in Oakland. She was bouncing in 150 directions at once. I'll admit to an initial impulse to point and laugh a little but then I thought "hey, at least she's out there running. You're driving 10 blocks to the grocery store to buy milk." I've never had an urge to condescend in this way again.
Honestly, among the fittest members of the gym I found this to be the almost universal attitude. "At least s/he's here and I hope she sticks with it. Good for him/her."
Here's why I cringed whenever a woman in full make-up came in. Not because she was made-up but because I knew there was a 50% chance she wouldn't use towels and I'd be wiping face make-up off various machines before I could use them.
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