Fitness Culture Of The 1980s And Refined American Body

To gain a better understanding of current fitness culture piloted by American gym-users,the thesis endeavors to probe into the American fitness culture that thrived from the 1980 s,unveiling the interconnection between American bodily ideal and the disciplinary social mechanism driven by modern capital power.The thesis aims to elaborate on the long-existent fat shame that originated in the unique American culture and the cultural implications of the current American bodily ideal.Classical bodily ideal as prototype,American somatic epitome displays its own version.“Being fit”,in the American context,refers to more than just a satisfactory body figure,but a critical advantage in public life.In fact,negative cultural implications of a fat body derived from the long-existent fat shame shaped by Protestant ethics and racial discrimination in the American history.Apart from socio-cultural backgrounds as shaping forces,modern social mechanism has also contributed to the current American bodily ideal.Self-commodification of the body indicates the disappearing of subjectivity.Meanwhile,fitness industry boosts consumption by justifying the moral superiority of body-building,which de facto reflects the deceptive and coercive nature of social norms in a consumerist society.Furthermore,the thesis explains the internalization process of the social norms based on Foucault's philosophical system--power/knowledge theory,unveiling how the “refined American body” has been shaped by the modern capital power in American society.