Speaker
Description
The purpose of this study is to investigate how fitness trainers adjust their bodies to meet the needs of the fitness industry, including their body figure, appearance, clothing and interaction methods with various clients. Moreover, it also analyzes how fitness trainers with different genders adapt their professional skills in the masculine field of sports by emphasizing their appearance and knowledge according to each client. This study deploys the concepts of body capital and body work, which make up the theoretical framework that illustrates the fitness trainers’ bodies as an important medium to showcase professionalism, as well as an embodiment of healthy sporting bodies. At the same time, this framework interweaves with the gender expectations and gender norms of the sporting field. Currently, the participants include 4 fitness trainers, including 2 females and 2 males, whose experiences in instructing or coaching from 4 to 20 years. For this ongoing study, the estimated number of participants is 16 fitness trainers of different genders and sexualities. Moreover, it is anticipated that the research results could offer further insights about the meaning of bodily construction and presentation that is embedded into sports culture, as well as the interrelation of sporting bodies with health and gender.
