Title |
Body Perceptions and Health Behaviors in an Online Bodybuilding Community
|
---|---|
Published in |
Qualitative Health Research, May 2012
|
DOI | 10.1177/1049732312443425 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Aaron C. T. Smith, Bob Stewart |
Abstract |
In this article we explore the social constructions, body perceptions, and health experiences of a serious recreational and competitive bodybuilder and powerlifter community. Data were obtained from a discussion forum appearing within an online community dedicated to muscular development. Forum postings for a period of 36 months were transposed to QSR NVivo, in which a narrative-based analytical method employing Gee's coding approach was employed. We used a priori codes based on Bourdieu's multipronged conceptual categories of social field, habitus, and capital accumulation as a theoretical frame. Our results expose an extreme social reality held by a devoted muscle-building community with a fanatical obsession with muscular hypertrophy and any accouterment helpful in its acquisition, from nutrition and supplements to training regimes and anabolic androgenic substances. Few health costs were considered too severe in this muscular meritocracy, where the strong commanded deference and the massive dominated the social field. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 5 | 63% |
Canada | 1 | 13% |
Sweden | 1 | 13% |
Unknown | 1 | 13% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 7 | 88% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 13% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 2 | 2% |
Netherlands | 1 | <1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
Australia | 1 | <1% |
Denmark | 1 | <1% |
Canada | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 126 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 30 | 23% |
Student > Master | 28 | 21% |
Student > Bachelor | 24 | 18% |
Researcher | 10 | 8% |
Other | 5 | 4% |
Other | 22 | 17% |
Unknown | 14 | 11% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Social Sciences | 27 | 20% |
Psychology | 19 | 14% |
Sports and Recreations | 17 | 13% |
Business, Management and Accounting | 9 | 7% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 8 | 6% |
Other | 30 | 23% |
Unknown | 23 | 17% |