From Subcultures to Common Culture: Bodybuilders, Skinheads, and the Normalization of the Marginal

Johansson, Thomas; Andreasson, Jesper; Mattsson, Christer

doi:10.1177/2158244017706596

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…On the one hand, the emergence and development of natural bodybuilding as competition sport needs to be understood in relation to the historical trajectory of dominant bodybuilding culture and industry. The traction natural bodybuilding has gained can be interpreted as a response and perhaps contributing factor to the radicalisation of bodybuilding (Richardson, 2010) and speaks to the dialectic constitution of the mainstream and the marginal (Johansson et al, 2017). Its trajectory can also be explained in terms of diversification tendencies in a cultural goods market, especially within a broader gym/fitness industry shaped by consumer capitalism (Sassatelli, 2015).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural bodybuilding: An account of its emergence and development as competition sport

Liokaftos

2018

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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Natural, i.e. drug-free, bodybuilding has been rapidly developing in different parts of the world as a distinct body culture with its own practices, discourses, organisations, key figures and focal points. A central aspect of this has been natural bodybuilding’s emergence and development as a competition sport. The present article traces its tentative articulation in the late 1970s, its formation as part of a broader natural movement in bodybuilding in the 1990s, and its consolidation and global expansion from the 2000s to the present day. In sketching this trajectory, natural bodybuilding is situated in the context of the bodybuilding industry and its historical transformations, as well as of the broader phenomenon of performance- and image-enhancing drugs and the reactions the latter has provoked in sport and wider society. The aim of the article is to offer an initial overview of a previously uncharted competition sport and in the process contribute to an exploration of bodybuilding as a varied and evolving phenomenon.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural bodybuilding: An account of its emergence and development as competition sport

Liokaftos

2018

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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“…Consequently, subjective violence enacted by our informants should also be understood as part of a wider symbolic violence guided by neo-Nazi doctrines and ideas of White supremacy. Today, many of these hateful ingredients in the far-right political movement—although somewhat modified and adapted to a normalized political context—are increasingly present in the Swedish society (Johansson et al 2017 and Haywood et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Subjective violence enacted in specific situations and in confrontations between different groups must also be understood as part of a wider symbolic and sometimes also systemic violence guided by ideological doctrines and ideas of White supremacy (Zizek 2008). Through a mainstreaming of many of the hateful ingredients in the far-right political movement, racism and hate speech are no longer merely a part of subcultural settings or neo-Nazi organizations, but also increasingly present in society at large (Johansson et al, 2017; Kimmel and Wade 2018). Consequently, the subcultural, expressive, and aggressive styles of the skinhead—particularly tattoos with skulls, Nazi symbols, and aggressive messages—have been replaced by sophisticated elements, such as White shirts and green ties (as in the Nordic Resistance Movement), concealing violence and putting forward new, attractive images of masculinity and nationalism (Miller-Idriss 2017).…”

Section: Violence Homosociality and The Construction Of Masculinitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“We Are the White Aryan Warriors”: Violence, Homosociality, and the Construction of Masculinity in the National Socialist Movement in Sweden

Mattsson

Johansson

2021

Men and Masculinities

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Violence is a significant element in the constitution, emotional structure, and reproduction of right-wing extremism and neo-Nazism. This article examines the life histories of former neo-Nazis and explores the roles of violence in the Swedish skinhead culture and neo-Nazi organizations. We conducted individual and group interviews with seven former neo-Nazis who held high positions in the movement. Our study focused on violence and violent acts, as well as feelings of redemption and regret. The findings show that violence had always been a part of our subjects’ lives. Violence was a means to solve disagreements and position themselves within the organizational hierarchy. Among our informants, masculinity was displayed and constructed through the performance of being “real men” within the circles of skinheads and neo-Nazis. The portrayal of real men as Aryan warriors attracted violent men to these circles to a greater extent and for longer than in other Nordic countries.

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“…A closer look at specific subcultures provides a clearer picture of the importance of subcultures in relation to changing subjectivities (Johansson et al 2017). In particular, we can see how subcultures are intimately interwoven with and tied in with societal and cultural transformation.…”

Section: Analytical Point Of Departurementioning

confidence: 99%

Bodybuilding and Fitness Doping in Transition. Historical Transformations and Contemporary Challenges

Andreasson

Johansson

2019

Social Sciences

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This article describes and analyses the historical development of gym and fitness culture in general and doping use in this context in particular. Theoretically, the paper utilises the concept of subculture and explores how a subcultural response can be used analytically in relation to processes of cultural normalisation as well as marginalisation. The focus is on historical and symbolic negotiations that have occurred over time, between perceived expressions of extreme body cultures and sociocultural transformations in society—with a perspective on fitness doping in public discourse. Several distinct phases in the history of fitness doping are identified. First, there is an introductory phase in the mid-1950s, in which there is an optimism connected to modernity and thoughts about scientifically-engineered bodies. Secondly, in the 1960s and 70s, a distinct bodybuilding subculture is developed, cultivating previously unseen muscular male bodies. Thirdly, there is a critical phase in the 1980s and 90s, where drugs gradually become morally objectionable. The fourth phase, the fitness revolution, can be seen as a transformational phase in gym culture. The massive bodybuilding body is replaced with the well-defined and moderately muscular fitness body, but at the same time there are strong commercialised values which contribute to the development of a new doping market. Finally, it is possible to speculate on the development of a fifth phase, in which fitness doping is increasingly being filtered into mainstream gym and fitness culture, influencing the fitness doping demography.

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From Subcultures to Common Culture: Bodybuilders, Skinheads, and the Normalization of the Marginal

Cited by 13 publications

References 25 publications

Natural bodybuilding: An account of its emergence and development as competition sport

Natural bodybuilding: An account of its emergence and development as competition sport

“We Are the White Aryan Warriors”: Violence, Homosociality, and the Construction of Masculinity in the National Socialist Movement in Sweden

Bodybuilding and Fitness Doping in Transition. Historical Transformations and Contemporary Challenges

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