Bodywork as a Moral Imperative: some Critical Notes on Health and Fitness

Abstract This paper provides a critique of the processes by which health and fitness have moved forward on the cultural agenda. It is argued that the development and promotion of cultural beliefs about health, while often well intended, flow from and help reproduce structures of inequality and relations of dominance. It is also suggested that the health and fitness movement incorporates a moral imperative which has consequences for class and gender relations. Our analysis demystifies some of the taken-for-granted assumptions underlying popular beliefs about the relationship between exercise, fitness, and health. We conclude by challenging some of the orthodoxies surrounding current social pressures to pursue ascetic lifestyles.