Extreme Sports, Extreme Bodies: Gender, Identities and Bodies in Motion

244 Pages·2019·3.463 MB·English

by  Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson

Gender, Identities
& Bodies
in Motion
JESPER ANDREASSON
& THOMAS JOHANSSON
Extreme Sports, Extreme Bodies
Jesper Andreasson · Thomas Johansson
Extreme Sports,
Extreme Bodies
Gender, Identities and Bodies
in Motion
Jesper Andreasson Thomas Johansson
Linnaeus University University of Gothenburg
Kalmar, Sweden Gothenburg, Sweden
ISBN 978-3-319-97237-4 ISBN 978-3-319-97238-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97238-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018949318
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Preface
This book is the result of a long collaboration between the two authors.
The joint work was initiated already in 2012, through a project focused
on development of the contemporary gym and fitness culture. The
findings were published with Palgrave Macmillan as The Global Gym:
Gender, Health and Pedagogies (2014). Emanating from our interest
in gym culture and the sculpting of bodies in this context, the idea to
write a book on extreme sports and bodies gradually evolved. In 2015,
we initiated a minor ethnographic project on Ironman triathlon, and
we soon identified some obvious similarities between bodybuilding and
triathlon, especially concerning how the athletes’ lifestyles seemed to
hook into the human body. Influenced by body studies and our data,
we were, in one respect, set in the direction of writing a broader book
on extreme sports and extreme bodies. We soon decided to include yet
another sport—mixed martial arts (MMA). So, using qualitative meas-
ures, our research interests have evolved into a book project in which we
have entered the respective worlds of bodybuilding, Ironman triathlon
and MMA. We are sincerely grateful that the anonymous reviewers of
our proposal, as well as Sharla Plant at Palgrave Macmillan, liked our
idea of writing the present volume. Thanks to the positive responses
v
vi Preface
and encouragement, we have been given the opportunity to deepen our
interest in carnal sociology and the phenomenology of the body.
When finalising a manuscript, like this book, it is difficult to use but
a few words to explain the significance of other people, who in differ-
ent ways have been interested in our work and generously invested their
time and commitment. We are sincerely grateful to all the athletes who
have enthusiastically shared their stories on sport, bodies and everyday
life. Remembering that these athletes often spend tremendous amounts
of time exercising, at the same time trying to find time for work and
family life, it is noteworthy that they also made time to talk with us, not
to mention inviting us to partake in their daily life. Speaking of time,
writing a book is also a time-consuming task for the authors. Thanks
to the financial support of The Swedish Research Council for Sport
Science, we have been able to make time to finalise the book. We would
also like to express our gratitude to our families for their continuous
support and encouragement. Further, Kalle Jonasson at the University
of Halmstad has read the manuscript and provided critical comments
and theoretical insights regarding the content of the book, and Tom
Danielsson, at Linneaus University, helped in gathering data for our
Ironman studies. Thank you! We would also like to mention a few pho-
tographers for generously sharing their work and making a great visual
contribution to the book. Thanks to Martin Wallén, Seth Janson, Urban
Anjar and Torbjörn Mark.
Some of the book chapters are based on articles already published by
the authors in journals including Sport in Society, Body & Society and
Ethnography and Education. The contents of these chapters have, how-
ever, been revised and adapted to suit the overall aim and framework of
the book. As part of this adaption, the empirical material used has been
re-structured and re-analysed, and new data have been added.
Kalmar, Sweden Jesper Andreasson
Gothenburg, Sweden Thomas Johansson
Summer 2018
Contents
Part I Introducing Extreme Sporting Bodies
1 Introduction 3
2 Body Studies and Carnal Sociology 25
Part II Bodybuilding and the Fitness Revolution
3 Getting the Pump: Pain and Pleasure
in Muscle-Building Practices 47
4 Negotiating the Subcultural Body 67
5 Bodybuilding: Concluding Thoughts 95
Part III Bending Bodies Through Ironman Triathlon
6 Discipline, Transcendence and Bodily Fluids 107
vii
viii Contents
7 The Family Puzzle in Ironman Triathlon 127
8 Ironman: Concluding Thoughts 149
Part IV Mixed Martial Arts and Spectacular Bodies
9 Fists, Blood and Emotions 159
10 (Re)Negotiating Violence 183
11 MMA: Concluding Thoughts 201
Part V Theorising Extreme Bodies
12 Bodies in Theory and Practice 211
Appendix: Research Design and Methodology 231
Index 241
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 The fitness revolution 13
Fig. 1.2 Fighting on the mat 17
Fig. 3.1 280 kilograms on the barbell 55
Fig. 4.1 Muscles and gender 82
Fig. 6.1 Cyclist and Mill 118
Fig. 7.1 Extreme sport and parenthood 130
Fig. 8.1 Boiling water 151
Fig. 9.1 Embracing fighters 160
Fig. 9.2 Making a career in the hurt business 177
Fig. 11.1 Spectacular bodies 203
ix
Part I
Introducing Extreme Sporting Bodies