A Genealogy of Male Bodybuilding: From Classical to Freaky Contributor(s): Liokaftos, Dimitris (Author) |
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ISBN: 1138351024 ISBN-13: 9781138351028 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $56.04 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 2018 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Sports & Recreation | Sociology Of Sports - Sports & Recreation | Bodybuilding & Weight Training - Social Science | Men's Studies |
Dewey: 796.41 |
Series: Routledge Research in Sport, Culture and Society |
Physical Information: 0.5" H x 6.1" W x 9.1" (0.75 lbs) 192 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Bodybuilding has become an increasingly dominant part of popular gym culture within the last century. Developing muscles is now seen as essential for both general health and high performance sport. At the more extreme end, the monstrous built body has become a pop icon that continues to provoke fascination. This original and engaging study explores the development of male bodybuilding culture from the nineteenth century to the present day, tracing its transformations and offering a new perspective on its current extreme direction. Drawing on archival research, interviews, participant observation, and discourse analysis, this book presents a critical mapping of bodybuilding's trajectory. Following this trajectory through the wider sociocultural changes it has been a part of, a unique combination of historical and empirical data is used to investigate the aesthetics of bodybuilding and the shifting notions of the good body and human nature they reflect. This book will be fascinating reading for all those interested in the history and culture of bodybuilding, as well as for students and researchers of the sociology of sport, gender and the body.
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