Spatial Bodies

Vulnerable Inclusiveness within Gyms and Fitness Venues in Sweden

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5936652
AutoresGreta Helen Bladh (0000-0003-3987-5448, Mid Sweden University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2022
Volumen11
Número10
Páginas455
Fecha de publicación2022-10-04
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial Sciences (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2076-0760 • E-ISSN: 2076-0760
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/socsci11100455
OpenAlexW4303982287
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas70

Today, gyms and fitness venues set out, on a superficial level at least, to cater to the individual, no matter what their gender and are therefore often seen as inclusive spaces for physical activity and its concomitant health benefits. However, previous research has shown that gyms as such, as well as certain areas within gyms, are perceived as specifically masculine spaces, often referring to a contextually contingent hegemonic masculinity, thereby deterring those who do not align with this image, especially women, but also certain men. Even when these dividing lines are crossed, a gendered movement schema remains, because there are different social expectations of what, how, and where men and women should exercise. As we will see in this paper, these movement schemas are produced and reproduced through discursive spatial linkages within the gym and fitness culture. In addition to investigating in what ways gendered norms are implicated within the very architecture of gyms in general, one gym, in particular, is used as an example since it is written into its statutes that it should work in a norm-critical way, providing a case study that shows an attempt to disrupt this inhibiting gendered spatial discourse and, thereby, possibly creating a more inclusive gym space

Hegemonic masculinity · Masculinity · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Adventure Sports and Sensation Seeking · Computer Science · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society