Social Justice in Globalized Fitness and Health (Routledge Research in Sport, Culture and Society)

In today’s neoliberal times, thinking about fitness and health is dominated by the media’s narratives of "fit bodies," which are presented and circulated in society as "valued bodies." Outside that mainstream view, however, there are many people labeled "bodies-at-risk": those who deviate from perceived norms of size, shape, race, social class, and gender.

Social Justice in Globalized Fitness and Health draws attention to how neoliberal ideologies impacting the body overlook the intersection of class, gender/sex, and race that informs how young, ethnic minoritized people embody and negotiate normative discourses of fitness and health. Indeed, through the lens of critical race theory (CRT), post-feminism, and postcolonialism, Azzarito highlights young, ethnic minoritized people’s struggles to find a culturally relevant sense of self.

Arguing for the need to found educational spaces where young, ethnic minoritized people can recognize themselves, resist and counter-narrate negative stereotypes, and self-represent to the public in affirmative ways, Social Justice in Globalized Fitness and Health will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as physical culture, education, sport sociology, qualitative methods, and cultural and visual studies, as well as scholars and practitioners of physical education and health in schools.

Laura Azzarito is Program Director of the Graduate Program in Physical Education Pedagogy and Physical Culture and Co-Director of the Visual Research Center for Education, Art, & Social Change at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York.