Pushing Up on the Glass Ceiling of Female Muscularity: Women's Bodybuilding as Edgework. Issue 5 (3rd May 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Worthen, Meredith G. F.; Baker, S. Abby
• Is Part Of: Deviant behavior. Volume 37:Issue 5(2016)
• Page Start: 471
• Page End: 495
• Publication Date: 2016-05-03
• Subjects: Deviant behavior -- Periodicals; 302.54205
• DOI: 10.1080/01639625.2015.1060741
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0163-9625

Abstract

Abstract: Women bodybuilders exemplify gendered deviance and risk a social stigma on top of the physical risk of partaking in this demanding sport. In the current study, we utilize Stephen Lyng's (1990, 2005) theoretical concept of "edgework" to understand what motivates women bodybuilders to engage in this high-risk behavior. Our qualitative analysis of 29 women bodybuilders' responses to open-ended survey questions reveals that the three components of edgework (activity, skill, and sensation) are evident in their training and dietary regimens. Overall, this study offers an important theoretical contribution to the study of women's bodybuilding while also extending Lyng's edgework model to this understudied phenomenon.