Främlingskap och det främmande: Bodybuilding, kön och identitet

Abstract

The subject of this article is the construction of gender identities. When discussing this subject we are also focusing on the construction of specific bodies. The modern individual is not only experimenting with his or her identity, but also with his or her body. The construction of the "perfect" body involves questions concerning gender identity: what should the perfect male and the perfect female body look like? What is the relationship between muscles and gender? In order to study changes as well as stable patterns in gender identity I have focused on a particular milieu, where bodies are formed and shaped: the gym. The main part of this study focuses on the male versus the female bodybuilders. Whereas the male bodybuilder is interpreted in terms of desperate attempts to cling to an archetypical male identity, the female bodybuilder is taken as an example of what actually happens when individuals develop bodies which become a threat towards the gender order. The female bodybuilder is discussed in terms of the abject, and changes in the more general way of apprehending gender. Female bodybuilders clearly contest ordinary conceptions regarding masculinity and femininity. However, they also indicate more general changes in the way we view the relation between male and female bodies.