TY - JOUR
T1 - It’s all about the six-pack
T2 - Boys’ bodies in contemporary Western culture
AU - Drummond, Murray
AU - Drummond, Claire
PY - 2015/12/1
Y1 - 2015/12/1
N2 - This is an article about boys and their construction of masculinities. It draws on 5 years of qualitative research data from the same group of boys from early childhood through to 10 years of age in an attempt to articulate the way in which boys come to view their bodies, and other male bodies, in contemporary Western culture. The research is based on focus groups and is a part of a longitudinal study with the same cohort of boys, at a school in Adelaide, Australia. The data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis to identify key emergent themes. The results indicate that there is an emerging trend among boys from early childhood through to middle primary school surrounding the acknowledgement of male body aesthetics as a signifier of being male. The use of terminology such as ‘six-pack’ is now commonplace among all of the groups. The consistency around muscularity as a signifier of being a man was very high among the boys of all ages. It is clear that greater emphasis needs to be placed on younger males’ and boys’ awareness of the meaning of the male body in contemporary Western society.
AB - This is an article about boys and their construction of masculinities. It draws on 5 years of qualitative research data from the same group of boys from early childhood through to 10 years of age in an attempt to articulate the way in which boys come to view their bodies, and other male bodies, in contemporary Western culture. The research is based on focus groups and is a part of a longitudinal study with the same cohort of boys, at a school in Adelaide, Australia. The data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis to identify key emergent themes. The results indicate that there is an emerging trend among boys from early childhood through to middle primary school surrounding the acknowledgement of male body aesthetics as a signifier of being male. The use of terminology such as ‘six-pack’ is now commonplace among all of the groups. The consistency around muscularity as a signifier of being a man was very high among the boys of all ages. It is clear that greater emphasis needs to be placed on younger males’ and boys’ awareness of the meaning of the male body in contemporary Western society.
KW - Focus groups
KW - health promotion
KW - qualitative approaches
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84952790248&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1367493514538128
DO - 10.1177/1367493514538128
M3 - Article
C2 - 24939926
AN - SCOPUS:84952790248
VL - 19
SP - 423
EP - 431
JO - Journal of Child Health Care
JF - Journal of Child Health Care
SN - 1367-4935
IS - 4
ER -