The gendered bodies and working experience of fitness trainers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2378944 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yu-Hsien Tseng (0000-0003-2053-9559, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1314-1332 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Review for the Sociology of Sport (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1012-6902 • E-ISSN: 1461-7218 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/10126902251318446 |
| OpenAlex | W4408383763 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 20 |
The fitness industry utilises the promotion of public health to emphasise the need for health-related physical activities and reinforce the connection between sporting bodies and health discourse. This study aims to investigate how fitness trainers in Taiwan build bodies that enable success in the fitness industry by deploying the concepts of body capital and body work. It also considers the role of gender expectations and norms. The participants in the study included fitness trainers, comprising 11 males and 9 females, with ages ranging from 25 to 40 years and work experience spanning 3 to 20 years. All participants underwent individual interviews lasting between 40 to 78 minutes. The results revealed that fitness trainers not only promote their professionalism and present a desirable body image but also engage in emotional labour, developing various strategies to build relationships with their clients. Furthermore, body capital serves as a tool to attract clients, and trainers of different genders and body shapes employ different strategies to gain their client's trust. Despite the apparent constraints of a singular ideal body image for fitness trainers, this is actually a reflection of the diverse body capital presented by fitness trainers and the intertwined needs of their clients
Advertising · Aesthetics · Art · Business · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Sociology of sport · Emotional Labor in Professions · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Obesity and Health Practices · Psychology
Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education
The Managed Heart
What Is ‘Body Work’? A Review of the Literature
Competing personas”
The personal is professional
(Un)Disciplined Bodies
Working out
The body, identity and gender in managerial athleticism
Training Bodies, Building Status
Your body is your business card
As long as I'm fit and a healthy weight, I don't feel bad
Between lookism and bodily capital
Bodies Matter
Emotion Work, Feeling Rules, and Social Structure
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |