Monadic, material and mirroring: Female bodies in track athletics culture.

Abstract

This study explored how female track athletes experience and use their bodies within the contexts (social places) that form part of their everyday routines. Using ethnographic methods (focus groups, observations, self-directed photographic elicitation, and reflexive diary entries) the research focused on a training group of five semi-elite female track athletes based in the UK in which one researcher was a full participant. Arthur Frank’s theory of the body is employed as an analytical lens to explore and illuminate the predominant types of body usage manifest in their embodiments. The findings indicated that the athletes were predominantly mirroring bodies, with focus on appearance central to their experiences. Crucially, these women desired more muscle in the mirroring process. Finally, attention is drawn to Frank’s typology as a useful framework through which to contribute to some of the key issues related to women’s experiences of their bodies in sport.