Body-focused Anxiety And Self-identity : A Study Of Urban Women’s Fitness Behavior

The issue of the body is an important issue in contemporary politics and social culture.In modern society,women’s bodies have become the object of discipline,and women are in anxiety about their bodies.With the continuous development of the social economy,the obvious improvement of women’s social status,and the awakening of self-awareness,women no longer blindly obey the society’s standards of scrutiny of women,but gradually cultivate their own body concept.Fight anxiety and identify with yourself.Among them,the gym,as an emerging place for women’s body practice,enables women to manage their bodies,understand themselves,and reshape themselves.Therefore,this article attempts to explore: What kind of experiences and feelings do women gain during the process of fitness? While being disciplined,how do women pursue self-development and achieve self-identity?This article takes female consumers in three gyms with different prices: L gym,W gym and Y gym as the research objects,and conducts research through participatory observation and interview methods.The study found that: in the process of fitness,women(1)faced the dual situation of "being disciplined" and "seeking identity",which is passive and autonomous;(2)the analysis of physical discipline,including the construction of discipline space,the diversification of discipline methods,the role of discipliners;(3)the analysis of self-identity.Women can generate new self-knowledge through fitness,form a reflective understanding of themselves,construct themselves,and gain recognition.Of course,the road for women to construct self-identity is not simple and easy,but a continuous process.In fitness activities,women do not completely get rid of discipline,but women can also obtain rich physical feelings and complete the construction of self.In the ever-developing modern society,women should improve their bodies in practice so that they can be returned to individuals and liberated themselves.