Working out: aesthetic labour,affect and the fitness industry personal trainer

In this article, we identify the importance of aesthetic labour to the self-employed fitness industry personal trainer (PT), detailing the ways in which the PT trades on their own physical capital. We examine how these discussions relate to the aesthetic and material dimensions of body work (that is to say, enacted on and through bodies) and the ways in which affective labour, inherent to this type of service work, intersects or delimits physical capital and the embodied competencies of the PT. We argue that the work of PTs helps to deepen emerging discussions and provides a more nuanced and contextualised understanding of affective and aesthetic labour. We assert that the confluences and contradictions between the affective and aesthetic dimensions of work in a fitness industry setting demonstrate that excessive physical capital is perceived as negative for the professional identity of PTs. In conclusion, implications for further research and management are discussed.     

Narratives of travel: desire and the movement of feminine subjectivity

This article explores a philosophical question concerned with the nature of the desire that moves one to travel, to engage with and know the world in its difference. Drawing upon French feminist theory I take up the Hegelian tradition of theorizing desire as a social relation that structures the everyday dynamics between self and other, self and world. Desire is also profoundly embodied, affective and unconsciously mediates our travel relations and experiences in culturally specific ways. Yet, within the leisure and tourism literature desire has rarely been theorized beyond the notion of individual motivation or an ideological conception of consumer wants as the product of false consciousness. In contrast this paper develops a textual analysis of the metaphors and narratives of travel that mediate the (western) feminine subject's desire to move into the world and engage with difference. As part of this method I draw upon excerpts from my own travel diaries to examine how different trajectories of desire structure the movement of feminine subjectivity within phallocentric culture. The journey of desire is inevitably incomplete, uncertain and produces moments that profoundly disturb and decentre the self. These liminal or heterotopic moments in travel afford us the possibility of glimpsing other modes of desire and hence different ethical relations between self and other, self and world.     

The embodiment of class,gender and age through leisure: a realist analysis of long distance running

Leisure activities claiming to promote health and fitness have been an increasing feature of contemporary society. The impact of such activities on social inequality is an important area of study for both theoretical and policy reasons. This paper adopts an embodied approach to explore the development of long‐distance running and the gendered, aged and classed nature of it. It is based upon part of a study which involved analysing a running magazine which was first entitled Jogging Magazine, quickly became Running and is now known as Runner's World, and ten interviews with runners. The paper illustrates connections between the knowledges, practices, organization and values promoted through running (from 1979–1998) and the growing popularity of a particular bodily type and style. The popularity of the slender muscular body has developed with the growth of leisure‐sports like running. It has become the ideal for men and women of all ages, but has been particularly related to the middle‐classes. Participation is thought to bring both health and aesthetic benefits for individuals. From the realist perspective adopted, the necessary mechanisms of running culture and the forms of embodiment promoted can be viewed as important in constituting class, gender and age processes. I suggest that viewing the emergent powers of sports like running utilising embodied approaches is important because they raise issues around the promotion of leisure activities that are viewed as unproblematically ‘healthy’. In the case of running it is found that it promotes an embodiment of middle‐classness that naturalizes gender and age inequalities whilst also individualising responsibility for them.     

Health club use and ‘lifestyle’: exploring the boundaries between work and leisure

In this article I investigate the relationship between work and leisure for professional employees. Drawing on qualitative research I explore the motivation behind premier club use – a sector within the wider health club industry – to show that rather than being an activity firmly located within the domain of ‘leisure’, it is a complex activity, influenced by a person's occupation and experience within the workplace. Through the empirical discussion I show that professionals working within the city are often committed to a ‘project of the self’, fuelled by a desire to create a professional identity whereby the development and maintenance of a fit and healthy body symbolises characteristics that are valued within the professional workplace. Accordingly I propose the concept of a ‘workstyle’ as opposed to ‘lifestyle’, to suggest that the motivation behind premier club use is defined according to the social and cultural experience of working in the city and in turn, certain individuals may be consuming premier club membership for the benefit of their overall career. To this end, premier club use is portrayed as an activity defined according to the principles of work rather than as a definitive ‘leisure’ pursuit, thus blurring and mediating the boundaries between work and leisure.     

Book reviews

Abstract

This article examines the cultural field of fitness as a network of producers, consumers, products and practices that has developed around the care of the body through physical exercise. Drawing on a thematic text analysis of US exercise manuals, the paper focuses on how the commercial fitness field naturalizes associations between physical exercise and leisure, and between leisure and self‐work. In particular, the analysis examines three themes and their relevance to our broader understanding of leisure in contemporary consumer society: the management of leisure time; the use of leisure for self‐investment strategies; and the promotion of consumption as the framework for leisure and an accompanying notion of pleasure. The fitness field casts light on how leisure more generally is constructed as a sphere of obligations to make productive use of one’s time, to improve one’s body and self, and to do so through the wares of the consumer marketplace. The cultural imaginary of leisure as a time of freedom from work and responsibility is thus recast, in an age of individualization, as a time of freedom to accomplish the work of self‐production.     

Exploring the emotional geography of the leisure time physical activity space with mothers of young children

Many women experience the transition to motherhood as a disconnection from the embodied and emotional self due to the demands articulated through contemporary discourses of motherhood. Using a qualitative approach, this paper explores the everyday emotional geographies of leisure time physical activity (LTPA), the emotions experienced, the physical and metaphorical spaces created, and the connections to embodied selves of mothers with young children. The findings indicate that despite discourses of intensive mothering, immobilising emotions and overwhelming tiredness, some women not only created a space for LTPA in their busy lives but were able to create connections between body, space and emotions. These connections and the emotions evoked were largely associated with spaces outside of the home. Understanding how women define and use these spaces, and negotiate and transform the self, can allow us to explore the diversity of women’s experiences of physical activity and their concepts of LTPA as ‘personal space’.     

Researching Leisure and Physical Activity with Women of Color: Issues and Emerging Questions

The roles of women in the United States are changing, along with the idea that being female is mitigated by a number of constructions such as race, class, age, income, (dis)ability, culture, and sexual orientation. Interest in understanding physical activity as leisure embodied in movement, exercise, fitness, recreation, and sports has increased because moderate to vigorous physical activity is associated with a lower risk for premature death, some chronic diseases, and being overweight. Research from the Centers for Disease Control, however, has shown that fewer than 30% of minority women in the United States obtain sufficient amounts of moderate activity to derive physical and mental health benefits. The Cross Cultural Activity Participation Study was designed to measure physical activity habits in African American and American Indian women and to develop and validate a set of surveys to measure moderate physical activity. A qualitative component was included as part of the larger study to obtain additional information about the psychosocial context and sociocultural meanings of physical activity and perceptions of leisure. The process of data collection, analyses, and reporting the qualitative findings, as well as developing and validating quantitative measurement instruments, resulted in raising methodological issues about studying race and culture and theoretical concerns for future research. The purpose of this article is to retrospectively describe our research process and what we learned in undertaking it. If behavior changes, health improvement, and an enhanced quality of life are to be achieved, then researchers must continue to determine the best ways to examine the meanings that individuals attach to activities.     

Planes,trains and wheelchairs in the bush: Attitudes of people with mobility-disabilities to enhanced motorised access in remote natural settings

Managers of remote and wilderness environments have been among the last to accommodate the needs of tourists with mobility-disabilities – partly because of the physical difficulties and expense of doing so, but also due to a wider desire and mandate to preserve the natural and wilderness character of such areas. This research explores the extent to which those with mobility-disabilities desire enhanced access to natural areas. Do they share the same desires and values with respect to wilderness and access as the able-bodied? This paper reports upon a survey of over 400 residents and tourists, some with mobility-disabilities and some able-bodied, and compares their attitudes with respect to the development of various forms of motorised access to wilderness environments. Significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of their desire for greater access and also in how they view the impacts of such development. The group with mobility-impairments expressed a stronger desire for enhanced access in such environments. The environmental values of both groups were also examined using the revised New Ecological Paradigm scale, however no significant differences were found between the groups. The implications for tourism providers and wilderness managers are discussed.     

Triathlon,suffering and exciting significance

In this article, I examine how triathletes learn to physically manage, socially perform and individually reflect upon the endurance sport of triathlon as a microcosm of the ‘civilising process’. Elias’s particular conceptualisation of habitus is centrally utilised to explain why, at this particular point in civilising processes, more men and women in factions of the Canadian middle class quest for ‘exciting significance’ through gruelling endurance sports like triathlon (swim‐bike‐run competitions). Pain and suffering narratives gathered from 62 participants in Canadian triathlon are analysed alongside ethnographic data collected over a three‐year period in Ontario, Canada. Specifically addressed is how triathletes come together as a mutually recognised ‘pain community’ of like‐minded actors, and how they learn to relish physical and mental suffering in the sport.     

Gender roles and sports in adolescent girls

Lack of leisure and time to self have been found to be major stressors for mothers. This paper examines perceived stress‐relieving benefits gained from involvement in a 12 week exercise class program by a group of mothers (n?=?30, x? age?=?37.3 years). Qualitative data indicated that exercise classes had the capacity to reduce perceived stress levels. The exercising mothers reported greater feelings of well‐being mainly due to gaining a space of their own, time‐out from busy schedules and the burden of childcare, and the feeling of doing something to improve their physical appearance. The negative or constraining aspects of exercise class participation included normalisation and self examination of women's bodies, and self‐surveillance rather than freedom of choice. The conclusions of this paper suggest that exercise classes can provide one avenue for mothers to take more control over their own health and lifestyle.     

The Influence of Sense of Community on the Perceived Value of Physical Activity: A Cross-Context Analysis

As the physical activity marketplace becomes increasingly diversified, strategies for recruiting and maintaining participants have become especially salient. Accordingly, the current study examined the use of a commonly reported outcome of fitness participation, sense of community (SOC), as an antecedent in generating both value and the perception of progress for participants. Three fitness contexts, CrossFit, traditional group fitness activities, and individual gym goers, were chosen based on varying levels of explicit commitment to community building. SOC was first measured in three contexts to explore differences among settings. After establishing differences between groups, multiple regression analysis was employed to understand the ways in which SOC affected dimensions of value. Results indicated that an explicit commitment to community building was positively associated with higher value of the fitness product and perceptions of individual progress. Strategy and benefits for encouraging the development of SOC in a fitness context are discussed.     

身体现象学视角下徒步旅游者Flow体验的生成与意义

近年来,在人文社会科学研究"身体转向"的背景下,微观身体逐渐成为窥探旅游体验的关键视角。文章基于身体现象学,构建了旅游者心流(Flow)体验生成与意义分析框架,利用参与式观察、深入访谈、感官民族志等方法对稻城亚丁徒步旅游者进行实证分析,研究发现:(1)徒步旅游者的旅游世界"知觉场"形成源于外部环境对其身体感觉、运动通道、多感官知觉等具身体验的不断刺激;(2)作为"具身-认知"的过程,徒步旅游者Flow体验生成源于技能与挑战的平衡,且主客互动推动旅游者获得新的认知体验;(3)徒步旅游者Flow体验的意义蕴含在具身实践的身体知觉与特定的社会情境之中,并通过主体知觉意识、情感体验、价值判别呈现;(4)Flow体验状态意味着幸福情绪的获得,最终给予真实自我和真实世界的价值判断。研究尝试从身体现象学视角出发,对体验领域的Flow体验进行研究,是对旅游体验研究话题扩展的有益尝试。     

Book review

Abstract

This article employs the methodology of contextual cultural studies to explore the protest strategies of ‘Lesbians for Liberty’, a group of fans who staged a ‘kiss‐in’ during every time‐out of a nationally televised game between the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) New York Liberty and Miami Sol. Designed as a way to challenge homophobia and lesbian invisibility sanctioned by the New York Liberty management, this article suggests the fans’ kissing activism promotes visibility and single‐issue identity politics as strategies for change. While the fans’ actions make lesbian bodies intelligible in a sporting and leisure space that too frequently imagines heteronormativity, a closer analysis reveals the rhetoric of Lesbians for Liberty and the WNBA’s marketing strategies are both complicit with ideologies and shifting processes characteristic of late capitalist profit‐enhancing practices. This article concludes by offering a discussion of queer and feminist writings that attempt to again theorise resistance in light of late capitalist marketing strategies, which have co‐opted the rhetoric of equality in the service of capital. The ultimate goal of this analysis is to join broader dialogues about the efficacy of identity‐based models of resistance by using the Lesbians for Liberty’s desire and actions as productive sites from which to rethink bodies, pleasures and resistance differently.     

Clubs and Hallmark Events

ABSTRACT

In Australia, clubs have long been viewed by some sections of the hospitality industry as the “poor cousins” of the more glamorous end of the market, such as four- and five-star hotels and resorts. Despite this perception, clubs are continuing to experience growth both in terms of membership and revenues collected and many play significant roles within the communities in which they operate. With regard to special events, much of the economic and social impact work published to date has focused upon the impact of such events in terms of accommodation and restaurant use, as well as visitor numbers and economic multipliers. The club industry in Australia, and in New South Wales (NSW) in particular, is a vibrant and thriving industry, but little work has been carried out to quantify the impact upon clubs of “outside” or external special events. Using in-depth interviews and discussions with marketing staff within two clubs in NSW (one rural and one metropolitan), this article examines their relationships to hallmark events that were conducted within each club's region. Analysis is made of the clubs' involvement with these events and the extent to which they were aggressively proactive in acquiring linkages to the event in question.     

Old bodies,young hearts: a qualitative exploration of the engagement of older male amateur rugby union players in Taiwan

The world’s population is ageing. Engagement in physical activities that assist people to age in good health while enjoying quality of life are critical considerations for practitioners and policy-makers. In 1913, the sport of Rugby Union was introduced to Taiwan. As a form of recreational activity, the game became popular among- Taiwanese males. In recent years, older players have sought to facilitate their continued involvement in an activity that is normally played as a full-contact sport. Why these individuals continue to play, how they perceive their experience and how the sport has evolved to maintain their interest and active involvement are especially interesting to explore. Study participants were specifically chosen from an established Taiwanese rugby union club. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted in 2013 with 15 amateur rugby players aged from 54 to 83 years. Results indicated that the main motivations for participants to continue playing was that it gave them ‘a sense of nostalgia and pride’, ‘lifelong friendship and belonging’, ‘pure joy and passion’, with considerations of being ‘mentally and physically active’, keeping up an involvement in ‘a real man’s sport’ and maintaining a sense of one’s ‘self-identity’ with ‘responsibility and commitment’ towards this chosen sport. Findings suggest that leisure providers need to be aware of the opportunities for reducing constraints and providing adaptations that allow older adults to immerse themselves in physically active pursuits integral to enjoying a fruitful ageing journey.     

A History of Machine Gambling in the NSW Club Industry

ABSTRACT

This article documents a history of the NSW club industry, with particular emphasis on its evolution to a major contemporary operator of gaming machines at state, national and international levels. It argues that three conditions of club registration-their not-for-profit status, membership requirements, and social benefit objectives-have been instrumental for clubs in gaining and maintaining dominant rights to machine gambling in NSW. These three features of clubs traditionally have underpinned their legitimacy as major providers of machine gambling, reflecting prevailing government policy that linked legalised gambling to social benefit. However, the substantial revenues that accrued from machine gambling, amidst an absence of competition, fuelled an expansion of the club sector that was neither predicted nor planned, with many clubs growing dramatically in assets, membership and facilities. The original club goals of promoting and pursuing the social purpose and community benefit for which they were established became superseded by an emphasis on expansion, market share, and profits. More recently, increased competition for the gambling dollar, reflecting a shift in government policy towards economically driven stimulation and expansion of commercial gambling, has further entrenched the commercialisation of clubs in their machine gambling operations, subordinating their social agenda to economic interests. This change in focus by club management has diminished the social contract that exists for clubs to operate gambling for community benefit, the very basis of the clubs' legitimacy as major providers of machine gambling. Indeed, the implicit assumption that social benefit was built into club machine gambling has allowed the clubs to exploit their position of market dominance in a way that exacerbates the negative social impacts of their core product.     

‘Stand out,not up’: bodyboarders,gendered hierarchies and negotiating the dynamics of pride/shame

In this paper, bodyboarders who surf the breaks of the Illawarra, New South Wales talk about their surfing experiences. We are particularly interested in leisured exclusions. Bodyboarders’ principal concern appears to be territorialisation of surf breaks and the legitimisation of bodyboarding in a sport where they are disavowed a ‘real’ surfing identity based on shortboarders’ desire to claim superiority. The paper explores how bodyboarders’ experiences of pride and shame articulate with understanding of space, self and masculinities. Alongside the physical environment of the surf break, interpersonal relationships between shortboarders and bodyboarders figure heavily in participant’s negotiation and construction of their gendered identities. We argue how individual bodyboarders negotiate the pride/shame nexus has important implication for understanding gender and territorialisation of the surf.     

旅游体验审美精神论

旅游体验的审美体系是建立在人本基础上的.从审美心理的角度看,旅游体验具有主体性、浸入性、互动性和不确定性,其核心价值在于审美.旅游体验造就了审美的人、完整的人.旅游审美体验是旅游者在情境互动之中,追求审美存在和生命创造的强烈内心感受.文章从旅游体验的审美感知、审美情感和审美想象三个层面展开.旅游体验充满着人在旅途的跨文化审美意蕴,它是为了探寻生活溶解在心灵中的秘密,并借由想象获得存在的真实和生命的沉醉.旅游体验体认的是人与物化、神与物契的审美情怀,高扬的是生生之德的审美境界.旅游体验中所体现的审美精神是彰显的、独立的、本真的人性；它所追寻的审美境界是自由的、升华的、解放的审美人生.     

Motivations of volunteer overseas and what have we learned – The experience of Taiwanese students

The study explores motives for Taiwanese students to volunteer overseas and what they have learned from the trip. Their motivations are classified into pull and push factors. Pull factors include expecting challenge, validating personal perceptions of the place, and getting to know local residents and experiencing the life in a foreign culture. Push factors identified as underlying themes include escaping from daily life to reorganize and relax, look for new ways of life and self exploration, a desire to give back, to make friends who share a common interest, a less expensive way of traveling, encouragement by others, and parental compulsion. The students gain several benefits from this trip, including a better attitude to learning, better communication skills, better stress management, an appreciation of what they have, being more active, becoming more generous and developing empathetic skills, be willing to hear and respect different voices, having trust in co-workers and be willing to admit deficiencies, appreciating a slower life pace, having an open mind, and learning to control material desire.