University of Tasmania
Browse

File(s) under permanent embargo

'Working out' for two: performances of 'fitness' and femininity in Australian prenatal aerobics classes

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 08:36 authored by Meredith NashMeredith Nash
In this article, I consider the distinctly classed places/spaces in which affluent Australian pregnant women physically maintain their bodies through aerobics. The case study described is drawn from data obtained between 2006 and 2008 in a longitudinal study examining feelings about body image and ‘fatness’ in a sample of pregnant women in Melbourne, Australia. The ways in which pregnant bodies are disciplined within gym spaces are discussed through a case study of a prenatal fitness centre, FitForTwo, and drawing on narrative data of pregnant informants. FitForTwo is described as a primary site for the performance of ‘fit’ pregnancy and underscored by bodies that can be shaped, trained, moulded and modified. This case study is analysed against a backdrop of a growing Australian moral panics about ‘fighting’ maternal obesity. It adds to a body of feminist geographical and qualitative studies of pregnancy, bringing both a more sustained, longitudinal analysis than previously offered, and an Australian context that offers rich comparative material.

History

Publication title

Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography

Volume

19

Issue

4

Pagination

449-471

ISSN

1360-0524

Department/School

School of Social Sciences

Publisher

Routledge

Place of publication

London

Rights statement

Copyright 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in human society

Usage metrics

    University Of Tasmania

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC