Alexis Sossa Rojas
CEDLA / University of Amsterdam
The purpose of this article is to understand how frequent female gym-goers work out in different gyms in Amsterdam, how they understand and live their bodies, and what working on their bodies means to them. Based on a qualitative study, data were collected from twelve months of fieldwork with eight women from different nationalities. My findings contribute to the work of Physical Cultural Studies by arguing how gym-going for these women form a complex and diverse cultural practice through which both personal and bodily experiences, meanings, and subjectivities become dialectically connected to, and negotiated through, broader socio-cultural contingencies, where gender stereotypes are not only reproduced but, at the same time, are also negotiated and subverted. The women in this article help us to understand that they are not necessarily victims of social pressures, nor are they in search of the perfect body since their adherence to training can also re-enact a space of agency and empowerment. Gym-going for them is not necessary liberating nor oppressive. It is related to the social context and to the individual’s awareness of their agency in negotiating their actions and perceptions at the gym.
Click here to read this peer reviewed article in Scandinavian Sport Studies Forum, Vol. 13, 2022
ALEXIS SOSSA is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Research in Society and Health (CISS) at Universidad Mayor in Chile. He earned his PhD from the University of Amsterdam in 2021, with a dissertation focused on gym culture and embodiment. As a sociologist specialising in qualitative research, Alexis explores interpretive sociological perspectives on the relationship between the body, self, and society, particularly within the realms of sport and physical culture. Read more by Alexis Sossa at idrottsforum.org.
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