Gender identity renegotiated : an analysis of barbelles in Singapore

• Main Author: Paulose, Kelly-Angel
• Other Authors: Ye Junjia
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology::Applied sociology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73787
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study explores the gender identity construction of Barbelles in Singapore. The term “Barbelles” is a portmanteau term derived from “barbell” and “belles”, and describes women who lift weights. Weight-training was picked as the focus of the study because of its unique multiplicity as a hypermasculine activity. While it serves as a site of resistance towards normative gender norms, it also reaffirms the ever-changing feminine ideal at the same time. By adopting Foucauldian concepts of technologies of power and self, this study aims to demonstrate this duplicity and explore the role it plays in the construction and negotiation of gender identity. Through in-depth interviews with 10 female weight-trainers, the data collected was organized into the aforementioned Foucauldian framework. Based on the responses collected, I explore gender identity as a continuum and examine how the respondents consistently negotiate their gender identity through the transformation of their bodies as well as the way they perform their gender both inside and outside the gym.