Negotiating nature : bodybuilding and the art of being some body

In bodybuilding 'nature' and 'culture' clash. While many physical activities are acclaimed for the way in which these are said to celebrate and enhance the aesthetics of bodies, the few accounts of bodybuilding which feature in the media generally question both the sport of bodybuilding and the cultivation of bodybuilders• bodies. Images of male and female bodybuilders' bodies are. significantly different from 'traditional' images of bodies.The cultivation of bodies in bodybuilding appears to fuse images of the masculine and the feminine. Reading the body as 'text• in bodybuilding thus becomes ambiguous because the body, as a 'natural' signifier of sexuality, has been 're-worked'. Femininity and masculinity are no longer seen to be 'natural ‘ attributes of a person's body. They have to be created. This thesis debates how and why ambiguity surrounds bodybuilding.In particular it is argued that power relations and discourses of bodybuilding produce both docile bodies and empowering identities. These processes are characterised by conflict. Thus, a discourse of bodybuilding presents a particular perception of ideal bodies which resists dominant discourses concerning bodies. The recording and presentation of a 'culture' of bodybuilding in the thesis has produced methodological debates. The qualitative method adopted in the study - ethnography - has been debated in relation to theoretical discussions of discourses of sexuality, health, and sport. The position of this thesis is that a culture of bodybuilding can challenge and bring about changes in perceptions of what constitutes bodies, thus facilitating new interpretations of how subjectivities can be negotiated through body work