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

Description

This book investigates extreme sports, defined as sports in which athletes challenge and transgress societal perceptions of what is humanly possible to achieve, in terms of physical training and bodily development/performance. Situated within a growing body of literature analysing the impact of new training trends on an individual’s body, identity, lifestyle and perception of his/her social surroundings, Extreme Sports, Extreme Bodies focuses on the gendered and embodied experiences of bodybuilding, Ironman triathlon, and mixed martial arts. Through their ethnographic analysis, Andreasson and Johansson present a unique and updated account of the increasing phenomenon of extreme sports and extreme bodies in contemporary Western society, grounded in the sociology of sport, body studies and embodiment literature. Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Introduction (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 3-23 Body Studies and Carnal Sociology (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 25-44 Front Matter ....Pages 45-45 Getting the Pump: Pain and Pleasure in Muscle-Building Practices (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 47-65 Negotiating the Subcultural Body (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 67-94 Bodybuilding: Concluding Thoughts (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 95-103 Front Matter ....Pages 105-105 Discipline, Transcendence and Bodily Fluids (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 107-125 The Family Puzzle in Ironman Triathlon (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 127-148 Ironman: Concluding Thoughts (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 149-155 Front Matter ....Pages 157-157 Fists, Blood and Emotions (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 159-181 (Re)Negotiating Violence (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 183-200 MMA: Concluding Thoughts (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 201-208 Front Matter ....Pages 209-209 Bodies in Theory and Practice (Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson)....Pages 211-229 Back Matter ....Pages 231-248