‘Tá monstrão’! A construção da masculinidade em uma academia de musculação

Abstract

In this investigation, we assumed the objective of understanding which representation of masculinity is produced by a bodybuilder athlete through the practice of resistance training and the relationships he establishes with his body. In the case study of a qualitative approach, in a gym located in a city in the state of São Paulo, we used the following procedures: participant observation, field diary and semi-structured interviews. We show that masculinity, as a socio-cultural construction, refers to a life project instituted in childhood, as well as that the practice of bodybuilding establishes hierarchical relationships in a hyperbolic attempt to establish the superiority of one body over others.