Marketing muscular masculinity in Arnold: the education of a bodybuilder

摘要

This article examines Arnold Schwarzenegger's ability to cross the wide divide between bodybuilding subculture, ‘an oddball sport’ shunned for its homoerotic imagery, and mainstream culture where he has become a popular icon of muscular masculinity. Where no other bodybuilder before or following him has been so successful, I show that it was Schwarzenegger's ability to mould himself to popular discourses that was the secret to his success. It is revealed that he developed a hyper-heterosexual persona and peddled an image of himself as a self-made man that fitted with broader cultural notions about American manhood. It is further revealed that whiteness plays a role in his ability to market himself, where whiteness underpins notions of masculine physical perfection within bodybuilding as well as in broader cultural notions about the kinds of bodies that are fit for American citizenship.View full textDownload full textKeywordsmuscular masculinity, homoeroticism, homophobia, self-determination, neo-liberalism, whitenessRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09589231003695872