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Extreme Sports, Extreme Bodies

Gender, Identities and Bodies in Motion

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Relates corporeal experiences and achievements to the socio-cultural context
  • Assesses the ways in which assumptions about health, gender and the body are embedded in extreme-sport practices
  • Contributes to a new understanding of three key extreme sports: mixed marital arts (MMA), ironman triathlon and bodybuilding

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Introducing Extreme Sporting Bodies

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Introduction

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 3-23
    3. Body Studies and Carnal Sociology

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 25-44
  3. Bodybuilding and the Fitness Revolution

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 45-45
    2. Getting the Pump: Pain and Pleasure in Muscle-Building Practices

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 47-65
    3. Negotiating the Subcultural Body

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 67-94
    4. Bodybuilding: Concluding Thoughts

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 95-103
  4. Bending Bodies Through Ironman Triathlon

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 105-105
    2. Discipline, Transcendence and Bodily Fluids

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 107-125
    3. The Family Puzzle in Ironman Triathlon

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 127-148
    4. Ironman: Concluding Thoughts

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 149-155
  5. Mixed Martial Arts and Spectacular Bodies

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 157-157
    2. Fists, Blood and Emotions

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 159-181
    3. (Re)Negotiating Violence

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 183-200
    4. MMA: Concluding Thoughts

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 201-208
  6. Theorising Extreme Bodies

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 209-209
    2. Bodies in Theory and Practice

      • Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson
      Pages 211-229
  7. Back Matter

    Pages 231-248

About this book

This book investigates extreme sports, defined as sports in which athletes challenge and transgress societal perceptions of what is humanly possible to achieve, in terms of physical training and bodily development/performance. Situated within a growing body of literature analysing the impact of new training trends on an individual’s body, identity, lifestyle and perception of his/her social surroundings, Extreme Sports, Extreme Bodies focuses on the gendered and embodied experiences of bodybuilding, Ironman triathlon, and mixed martial arts.

Through their ethnographic analysis, Andreasson and Johansson present a unique and updated account of the increasing phenomenon of extreme sports and extreme bodies in contemporary Western society, grounded in the sociology of sport, body studies and embodiment literature.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden

    Jesper Andreasson

  • University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Thomas Johansson

About the authors

Jesper Andreasson is Associate Professor of Sport Science at Linnaeus University, Sweden, researching predominantly in the fields of gender studies, the sociology of sport and gym/fitness culture.

Thomas Johansson is Professor of Child and Youth Studies at Gothenburg University, Sweden, and is one of the key researchers in the field of men and masculinities in the Nordic countries.


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Extreme Sports, Extreme Bodies

  • Book Subtitle: Gender, Identities and Bodies in Motion

  • Authors: Jesper Andreasson, Thomas Johansson

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97238-1

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG, part of Springer Nature 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-97237-4Published: 06 September 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-07322-0Published: 19 January 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-97238-1Published: 25 August 2018

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: IX, 248

  • Number of Illustrations: 10 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Sociology of Sport and Leisure, Culture and Gender, Gender Studies

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access