On Friday, September 20, 2024, at 13:15, Aurélien Daudi will present and defend his dissertation Conspicuous Fitness: Social Media, Fitspiration, and the Rise of the Exhibitionistic Self at the Department of Sport Sciences, Malmö University, in Room D138, Orkanen, Nordenskiöldsgatan 10, Malmö. The defence will be live streeamed as well, link TBA.
The faculty examiner is Emeritus Reader Andrew Edgar, Cardiff University, and the examining committee is made up of Professor Sigmund Loland, Norwegian school of sport sciences; Associate professor Irena Martinkova, Charles University; and Professor Angela Schneider, Western University.
Assistant professor Kutte Jönsson, Malmö University, has been Aurélien Daudi’s principal supervisor, and Professor Katarina Schenker, Linnæus University, co-supervisor.
This compilation thesis is available here in full text, open access.
English abstract
We are living in an era that can be aptly termed the age of imagery. Modes of iconography have become the bedrock of modern culture and its language. In this digital epoch, photographic exhibitionism has become a pervasive element of contemporary life, reflected in the widespread and often compulsive sharing of personal images on social media platforms. By the early 2010’s, a point had been reached where unabashed visual self-aggrandizement through social media had moved into the realm of normal and encouraged social behavior. While this transformation of social norms has been observable across the broad landscape of photo-based social media, it is particularly conspicuous within the social media fitness culture, known as “fitspiration”.
Amalgamating the words “fitness” and “inspiration”, fitspiration epitomizes a cultural movement that ostensibly promotes health and fitness through visual content shared on social media platforms. However, it is more accurately characterized by its focus on visual displays of the body and overt nudity, legitimized through its framing within the context of health and fitness. Against the backdrop of a pervasive youth mental health crisis, this study posits that the phenomenon of fitspiration is significant not merely as a digital trend but as a manifestation of deeper socio-cultural shifts, ideological currents, and existential dilemmas inherent in the present. Furthermore, it is argued to represent a manifestation of the intrinsic biases of the medium itself, thus affording crucial insights into the ways in which social media, as a technological force, impacts human communication and societal values.
Through a philosophical lens inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche and incorporating core principles from media ecology, this study offers a philosophical analysis and critique of fitspiration, and the medium which facilitates it. Crucially, fitspiration is here positioned as an illustrative example of the normalization of the type of self-representational practices, aimed at maximizing attention and external validation, that now saturate the social media environment. The dissertation scrutinizes the emergence of these aesthetic practices, what accounts for their widespread attraction, and the implications of a cultural milieu increasingly oriented around such self-expressions. It argues that photo-based social media leverages unreflective, desirous, and narcissistic impulses of human nature in ways that render their expressions decidedly unhealthy, fostering a cultural trajectory that is both individually and socially detrimental. In this context, fitspiration represents one of the most egregious examples.
Via this critical and piercing examination of a widespread social media phenomenon, the study ultimately seeks to illuminate the profound impact of the medium, challenging conventional wisdom and offering new insights into the intricate relationship between technology, culture, and human behavior. Additionally, it outlines the philosophical and ethical perspectives argued to be not only relevant but also necessary for navigating the challenges of the age of imagery and a digitized world.
