What does this research mean for the field?

In prison environments, physical activities can both reinforce hegemonic masculinity through practices like weight training and foster alternative, emotionally expressive masculinities through practices like yoga and dance. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This study examines how incarceration alters men's masculine identities and investigates how sports and physical exercise facilitate the reproduction, negotiation, and transformation of prison masculinities.

September 14, 2026Journal of Gender Studies

Building masculinities through sport: a study of physical activity in prison contexts

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This study examines how incarceration alters men's masculine identities and investigates how sports and physical exercise facilitate the reproduction, negotiation, and transformation of prison masculinities.
Conducted a 2.5-year ethnography in a high-security prison in Catalonia.
Completed 340 hours of participant observation.
Conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with N=30 participants, comprising incarcerated individuals and correctional professionals.
Weight training functions as a vital tool to reclaim autonomy, status, and self-esteem, where developing a muscular body reinforces hegemonic masculinity and asserts dominance within prison power structures.
Alternative physical practices, including yoga, dance, and collaborative activities, promote non-hegemonic masculinities characterized by empathy, self-awareness, emotional expression, and cooperation.
Diverse sporting activities simultaneously sustain dominant masculine codes and create spaces to contest hypermasculine norms in correctional environments.

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Implication

Ethnographic study reveals how sport reshapes masculine identities in incarcerated men, highlighting how physical practices can both reinforce and challenge dominant prison hierarchies.

Cite This Study

Llorach-Segalà et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa7b3aa0926e14a848b2d31 https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2026.2729348

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Implication

Ethnographic study reveals how sport reshapes masculine identities in incarcerated men, highlighting how physical practices can both reinforce and challenge dominant prison hierarchies.

Building masculinities through sport: a study of physical activity in prison contexts

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Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Building masculinities through sport: a study of physical activity in prison contexts

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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