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An Exploration of Young Females' Experiences of Fitness Culture On An exploration of young females’ experiences of fitness culture on social networking sites Stephanie Jong, Bachelor of Health Sciences and Education (Middle school/Secondary); Bachelor of Education (Hons) Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Education Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law Flinders University April, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of tables and figures ............................................................................ vi Summary ..................................................................................................... vii Declaration of authorship ........................................................................... ix Acknowledgements ...................................................................................... x Glossary ...................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1 Introduction............................................................................. 1 1.1 The evolution of contemporary health and fitness culture ..................... 1 1.2 The progression of fitness culture to the online environment ................ 3 1.3 Reported concerns around online fitness culture .................................. 5 1.4 Purpose ................................................................................................. 8 1.5 Aim ........................................................................................................ 8 1.6 Research objectives .............................................................................. 8 1.7 Significance ........................................................................................... 9 1.8 Thesis Summary.................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2 Literature Review .................................................................. 11 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 11 2.2 Culture ................................................................................................. 13 2.3 Scope: ................................................................................................. 14 2.4 Themes: .............................................................................................. 15 2.4.1 Section 1: The Internet and social networking sites as popular mediums to seek health and fitness information .................................... 16 2.4.1.1 Online health information seeking .............................................. 16 2.4.1.2 Online communities .................................................................... 18 2.4.1.2.1 Online health and fitness communities ................................ 20 2.4.1.3 Online fitness culture .................................................................. 23 2.4.1.3.1 Biopedagogies ..................................................................... 24 2.4.2 Section 2: The impact of this information on physical bodies ........ 25 2.4.2.1 Online representations of the female body ................................. 25 2.4.2.2 Presentation of gender in online fitness ..................................... 27 2.4.2.3 Body image ................................................................................ 29 2.4.2.3.1 The fit ideal .......................................................................... 29 2.4.2.3.2 Social networking sites and body image .............................. 31 2.4.2.3.3 Social networking site ‘trends’ and body image: Thinspiration and fitspiration..................................................................................... 33 2.5 Summary of the trends in the literature: ............................................... 38 CHAPTER 3 Theoretical Framework ........................................................ 41 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 41 3.1.1 Revisiting the research question ................................................... 41 3.1.2 Theories used within online fitness research ................................. 42 3.2 Theoretical framework ......................................................................... 44 3.2.1 Qualitative research in the study of social networking sites .......... 44 3.2.2 Research paradigm ....................................................................... 45 i 3.2.3 Epistemological underpinnings ...................................................... 46 3.3 Social Constructionism ........................................................................ 47 3.2.1 Introduction ................................................................................... 47 3.2.2 Burr’s (2003) four assumptions of social constructionism ............. 48 3.2.2.1 A critical stance toward taken-for-granted knowledge ............. 48 3.2.2.2 Historical and cultural specificity ............................................. 49 3.2.2.3 Knowledge is sustained by social processes .......................... 50 3.2.2.4 Knowledge and social action go together ............................... 51 3.2.3 Criticisms of social constructionism ............................................... 51 3.4 Symbolic interactionism: An alternative to exploring online fitness ...... 52 3.4.1 Introduction ................................................................................... 52 3.4.2 Blumer’s (1969) three main principles of symbolic interactionism . 54 3.4.3 Core ideas of symbolic interactionism ........................................... 54 3.4.3.1 Perspectives ........................................................................... 55 3.4.3.2 The symbol ............................................................................. 56 3.4.3.3 Self .......................................................................................... 56 3.4.3.4 Identity .................................................................................... 58 3.4.3.5 Mind ........................................................................................ 58 3.4.4.6 Society .................................................................................... 59 3.4.4.7 Reference groups ................................................................... 59 3.4.3.8 Communication and interaction ............................................... 60 3.4.3.9 Roletaking ............................................................................... 61 3.4.3.10 Meaning ................................................................................ 62 3.4.4 Criticisms of symbolic interactionism ............................................. 62 3.5 Theoretical justification: The study ...................................................... 64 3.6 Chapter summary ................................................................................ 67 CHAPTER 4 The Research Process ......................................................... 68 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 68 4.2 PHASE 1: Netnography ....................................................................... 70 4.2.1 The process of netnography .......................................................... 72 4.2.1.1 Step 1: Planning ...................................................................... 73 4.2.1.2 Step 2: Entrée ......................................................................... 74 4.2.1.3 Step 3: Data collection ............................................................ 74 4.2.1.4 Step 4: Data analysis .............................................................. 78 4.2.1.5 Step 5: Research representation and evaluation .................... 78 4.2.2 Ethical considerations pertaining to Phase 1 ................................. 79 4.2.2.1 Online public and private debate and consent ........................ 79 4.2.3 Limitations and delimitations ......................................................... 82 4.2.3.1 Lack of face to face interaction ............................................... 82 4.2.3.2 Specificity of data collection .................................................... 83 4.2.3.3 Size of the data set ................................................................. 83 ii 4.3 PHASE 2: Individual Interviews ........................................................... 84 4.3.1 Sample .......................................................................................... 84 4.3.2 Recruitment ................................................................................... 87 (1) Recruitment of participants through social networking sites ...... 87 (2) Recruitment through gym endorsement .................................... 88 4.3.3 Data collection ............................................................................... 88 4.4 Participant photographs ....................................................................... 90 4.5 Ethical considerations for Phase 2 ...................................................... 91 4.5.1 Informed consent .......................................................................... 91 4.5.2 Privacy and confidentiality ............................................................. 92 4.6 Data analysis ....................................................................................... 92 4.6.1 Phase 1: Familiarisation with data ................................................. 93 4.6.2 Phase 2: Generating initial codes .................................................
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