A picture is worth a thousand words: constructing (non-) athletic bodies

Abstract

In this article we explore body norms Dutch youth create in their discursive constructions of athletic and (non-)athletic bodies and how these norms are enforced by the Panopticon and the Synopticon. Our methodology consisted of auto-driven photo elicitation group interviews with 42 secondary school students. The results indicate the complexity of the discursive constructions that youth use. We created seven visual metaphors to illustrate the various narratives that emerged from the data: the Male Soccer Player; the Field Hockey Girl; the Female Boxer; the Male Dancer; the Fatty; the Sumo Wrestler; and the Computer Nerd. These visual metaphors show these teenagers conflated dominant discourses about health and appearance and how their discursive constructions of athleticism intersected with notions about gender, sexuality, social class, and race. Furthermore, our data illustrate how our participants reproduced and resisted dominant discourses that are produced by visual media.

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