The Panopticon of physical education: pretty, active and ideally white

Abstract

Background: Recently, a growing number of researchers have explored students' social construction of the body in school settings. Young peoples' construction of the body, inextricably linked to dominant cultural discourses of the mass media, bears upon their identity and physical activity participation choices. Purpose: This study employed a qualitative research design in two public high schools to explore young people's social construction of the ideal body in physical education by using body images drawn from fitness and sport magazines. Participants: Participants were high school students, and formal interviews were conducted with 28 students. Students' construction of meanings about the ideal body were gendered and racialized. Conclusions: We conclude the paper by suggesting that further work on understanding girls' and boys' construction of the body is needed, especially regarding gender and race issues; and that the creation of pedagogical spaces in schools to destabilize and subvert the gendered, racialized social norms of the ideal body are necessary.