Exersizing agency : feminism and aerobics

Abstract: Feminist debate on aerobics mainly focuses on the disciplining discourses that women face, to be thin, fit and beautiful. Although it is important to examine these discourses I argue that the discussion has taken a wrong turn in putting such emphasis on the disciplining pressures. I argue that this kind of debate, which is greatly influenced by Michel Foucault, disregards the experience of women arobicizers and reduces the millions of women that enjoy aerobics to be passive victims, cultural dupes or docile bodies. This kind of debate also leads feminists to label aerobics as oppressive, witch I believe is unfair because aerobics, like most practices, is contradictory and can be both oppressive and liberating. I argue that feminist debate on aerobics would greatly benefit from using the classic feminist method of building theories from women's personal experiances. Feminist scolors should put more emphysis on the experiences of the aerobicizers, than the oppressive, discipling forces that women face. Focusing on the experiences of women aerobicizers would reveal the liberating aspects of aerobics and open the discussion to examining how women aerobicizers exercise agency.