Muscularity, the habitus and the social construction of gender: towards a gender-relevant physical education

Citation

Gorely T, Holroyd R & Kirk D (2003) Muscularity, the habitus and the social construction of gender: towards a gender-relevant physical education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 24 (4), pp. 429-448. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425690301923

Abstract
This paper begins to develop the concept of gender-relevant physical education, combining the work of Pierre Bourdieu and his notion of the habitus and feminist philosopher Iris Marion Young's analysis of feminine motility. It draws on data generated from a study of young people's articulation of the relationships between muscularity, physicality and gender. The social construction of the body has been of central importance to the construction of femininities and masculinities, and has formed an enduring meta-theme through much of the research on physical education and gender. We build on the young people's insights to argue that Bourdieu's notions of the habitus and the exchange of physical capital provide a useful means of conceptualizing issues of embodiment and gender in school physical education and sport. We conclude by sketching an outline of gender-relevant physical education as a process of interrupting the habitus.

Journal
British Journal of Sociology of Education: Volume 24, Issue 4