Learning to labour in the gym
Training to fight to reimagine the self and work under neoliberalism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12913019 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Amit Singh (0000-0002-7288-2693, University of Manchester, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2023-09-13 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociology Compass (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1751-9020 • E-ISSN: 1751-9020 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/soc4.13150 |
| OpenAlex | W4386754565 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 33 |
This paper explores the motivations of those who train to fight at a Muay Thai and Kickboxing gym in East London, who view fighting (and training in the gym) as a means of coping with the harshness of work, as a financial supplement to work, and as an alternative form of work. It explores how the repetitive regimes of the body employed by fighters, such as dieting, twice‐daily training sessions and sparring, as both individual and collective bodily work, contrasts with their experiences of social life under capitalism, which is seen as unfair and unmeritocratic. This, it argues, leads people to seek refuge within the meritocratic sphere of the gym, which offers new opportunities, possibilities and a unique ability to master the self. It subsequently argues that we can understand training to fight as a response to class exclusion, stigmatisation, and helplessness under neoliberalism
Capitalism · Learned helplessness · Neoliberalism (international relations · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Work (physics · Diversity and Impact of Dance · Gender Studies · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Sociology and Norbert Elias · Sports, Gender, and Society
Writing Culture
Revolting Subjects
Righteous Dopefiend
Learning to Labour
Distinction
Modernity and self-identity
Body and Soul
In Search of Respect
Undoing Gender
Fighting with race
Neo-liberalism and the End of Liberal Democracy
Urban Marginality in the Coming Millennium
A theory of human motivation
Shame on Us
The Invention of the “Underclass
Against Meritocracy
In the Gym
Pugs at Work
Body Projects and the Regulation of Normative Masculinity
Carnal Connections
Bourdieu in the City
Mapping Reflexive Body Techniques
Body, Image and Affect in Consumer Culture
Exploring the racial habitus through John's story
Dying to live
The Social Logic of Boxing in Black Chicago
What's the Footballer Doing Here?' Racialized Performativity, Reflexivity, and Identity
The Class Ceiling
Neoliberal Agency
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |