The Nature of the Body in Sport and Physical Culture: From Bodies and Environments to Ecological Embodiment

Abstract

This article raises the ecological substance and relational co-constitution of bodies as a generative question for sociologists of sport and physical culture. It proceeds from our observation that recent research on the materiality of athletic bodies, and on the environmental issues in which sport is implicated, tends to run on parallel tracks. By exploring how biological, environmental, and social natures cohere in the making and unmaking of healthy bodies, our aim is to connect and extend these vibrant areas of research. We do so by developing the concept of “ecological embodiment,” a descriptor for a fluid state of becoming and a sensibility for thinking about hierarchical socioecological entanglements. To illustrate this concept, we draw on a study of whey protein powder, a key ingredient in contemporary fitness cultures.

Toward More-Than-Human Understandings of Sport and the Environment: A New Materialist Analysis of Everyday Fitness Practices

“…Policies, politics, and solutions to environmental degradation need to be revised to better address the complexities of these more-than-human entanglements. This is no easy task and we concur with King and Weedon (2021) who describe how they have been "stretched and confounded in [their] efforts to recognize how complex histories of injustice and resilience are infused in biological matter, bodies, and multispecies traffic" (pp. 4).…”

“…In line with Wilson and Millington (2017) and King and Weedon (2021), we acknowledge a large body of work interested in exploring the environmental effects of mega-sporting events and analyzing the sustainability policies of sporting organizing and leagues (McCullough and Kellison, 2017;Wilson and Millington, 2017). Scholarship has analyzed how mega sporting events negatively impact the environment because of increased tourism (i.e., more waste and transportation needs), an enormous carbon footprint, and long lasting negative environmental effects (i.e., infrastructure issues) (Collins et al, 2009;Ahmed and Pretorius, 2010;Hayes and Karamichas, 2012;Karamichas, 2013).…”

“…In their review of sporting literature and the environment, Wilson and Millington (2017) divide this research into three broad themes; (a) sport management and environmental issues, (b) sport, modernization, and globalization, and (c) sport, neoliberalism and environmental policy. More recently, King and Weedon (2021) describe research focused on sport and the environment as emphasizing "the contradictions between sustainability rhetoric and capitalist growth, " with building critique of "'ecological modernization' as an environmental strategy in the hosting of sport events" (pp. 1).…”

“…(pp. 202) Building from this research, King and Weedon (2021) recently introduced the concept of "ecological embodiment" as a way to think about body-environment relations in less dualistic terms. They argue that "ecological embodiment" can be understood as a "fluid bodily state of becoming" (pp.…”

Social aspects and sports performance: the principle of social-corporeal individuality

“…Studies centered on biomechanical, physiological, and technical aspects of running (Manechini et al, 2020) and trail running are predominant in the academic literature, with the use of equipment, emphasizing the improvement of performance or the prevention of lesions (Mo et al, 2021;Lima et al, 2021;Weir et al, 2020;Jewell et al, 2019;Vercruyssen et al, 2014;Daviaux et al, 2013). However, studies where sports are associated to social and cultural aspects have also been observed, though to a lesser extent (Hockey and Allen-Collinson, 2016;Davies et al, 2019;Deelen et al, 2019;King and Weedon, 2021;O'Brien et al, 2021).…”