Yes, I Used To Exercise, But… — A Feminist Study of Exercise in the Life of Swedish Women

AbstractThis paper provides a psychological, social-constructivist, feminist analysis of exercise as a leisure activity in the life of Swedish women. Thematic in-depth interviews with fifty Swedish women between twenty and sixty years of age were analyzed within a psychological discursive model. Exercise was found to be both dissonant and consonant with the women's construction of themselves. Exercise was considered important in relation to physical appearance, weight gain, and as an appropriate gender activity. The study also showed the women's disassociation from male-marked sports, and the restrictions imposed by family obligations and a fear of being selfish. The findings were discussed in terms of the discourses of gender-equality, womanhood, and fitness that are deeply rooted within Swedish society.