This article examines popular fitness sports and home fitness software in China. Drawing on Michel Foucault's theory of discipline, Norbert Elias' study on civilization, and Jean Baudrillard's study on the consumer society, the authors reveal the formation of a new body discipline mechanism against the background of the Internet society and the consumer society. The study reveals both upgraded external disciplinary strategies (liquidity and visibility of space, linear and rhythmic time, and knowledge strategies) and a unique form of positive self-discipline. Fitness practices, as a consumption practice, promote self-discipline among practitioners who also pursue distinctive social positions. This self-discipline involves code manipulation, time consumption, moral display, and self-writing. Internet technologies blur the space-time boundaries of physical discipline, changing power distribution into a daily form.
Publisher
The Journal of Chinese Sociology
Published On
Mar 01, 2021
Authors
Jun Tang, Zilong Xie
Tags
fitness sports
home fitness software
body discipline
self-discipline
consumer society
internet technology
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