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Finding fun in the fatigue: Exploring healthism among group fitness instructors
Malmö University, Faculty of Education and Society (LS), Department of Sports Sciences (IDV).ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1763-9428
2024 (English)In: European Journal of Cultural Studies, ISSN 1367-5494, E-ISSN 1460-3551Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

The concept of health is culturally contingent, and fitness practices provide a venue to gain insights into the construction of health. In this case study-based article, I focus on group fitness instructors' narratives on healthiness and fitness rituals. By combining Foucault's notion of the 'microphysics of power' and the socio-cultural phenomenon healthism, I employ a genealogical approach that reveals how healthism renders a discursive space for group fitness instructors ('local fitness experts') to navigate their understanding of health norms. A qualitative method consisting of 22 semi-structured interviews was used. Group fitness instructors teaching in Austria for a global group fitness distributor (Les Mills) were interviewed. The results show that eliminating risks to health is the highest imperative to the instructors, which is traced back to a dichotomy between 'disciplined training' and 'fun training', where fun training is seen as feminine and risky. Furthermore, instructors underline their health literacy through skeptical consumerism - choosing health for the sacrifice of fun or finding fun in the fatigue.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2024.
Keywords [en]
Bio-power, exercise, glocalization, group fitness, gym culture, healthism, leisure career, Les Mills
National Category
Sport and Fitness Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-67307DOI: 10.1177/13675494241245535ISI: 001206506000001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85191153645OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-67307DiVA, id: diva2:1859168
Available from: 2024-05-21 Created: 2024-05-21 Last updated: 2025-03-06Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Healtism and professional identity: group fitness instructors navigating health discourses
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Healtism and professional identity: group fitness instructors navigating health discourses
2024 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This mixed methods dissertation employs a survey, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussionsto investigate the health consciousness of Les Mills International (LMI) group fitness instructors. UsingFoucauldian concepts such as discourse and bio-power, the study examines instructors’ construction of theirprofessional identity, and the link between professional identity and healthism, a discourse that promulgateshealth as an individual responsibility.The findings reveal that LMI instructors' professional identity is anchored in sociability, commitment, andphysical perfection.Two stereotypical LMI instructor profiles emerged. Firstly, “the sociable instructor”, whovalues interacting with participants and colleagues at the gym, as well as engaging with the global LMIcommunity online. Secondly, the “all about being fit instructor”, who teaches LMI to enhance their individualphysique. Moreover, instructors understand themselves as role models and health gatekeepers aiming tocombat inactivity by exercising vigilantly and adhering to LMI regulations. Moreover, the results show thathealthism constitutes LMI professional identity, upheld through social interactions and a collective belief inhealthism's rationality. Furthermore, instructors understand their professional identity through their bodieswhile positioning the body both as a threat and as a solution to health, which reveals how the constructionof health is framed as an individual endeavor. This perspective was fortified during the COVID-19 pandemic,where staying fit became a defense strategy against the virus.Finally, this thesis shows that healthism is inextricably linked to normative femininity and a pathogenicperspective on health. Since healthism masquerades as an apolitical concept through the body, fitnessculture can be used to reinvent suppressive structures, such as patriarchy, via healthism. Accordingly, thethesis manifests that investigating health consciousness provides a means to dismantle genderedunderstandings of health.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Malmö: Malmö University Press, 2024. p. 127
Series
Malmö Studies in Sport Sciences, ISSN 1652-3180 ; 44
Keywords
Healthism, Professional Identity, Group Fitness, Fitness Culture, Discourse, Power
National Category
Sport and Fitness Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-70453 (URN)10.24834/isbn.9789178775033 (DOI)978-91-7877-502-6 (ISBN)978-91-7877-503-3 (ISBN)
Public defence
2024-09-09, Orkanen, D 138, Nordenskiöldsgatan 10, Malmö, 13:15 (English)
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Supervisors
Note

Paper I  as manuscript.

Paper I  is not included in the fulltext online.

Available from: 2024-08-21 Created: 2024-08-21 Last updated: 2025-03-06Bibliographically approved

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Andersson, Karin

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