McMahon, Jenny, and DinanThompson, Maree (2011) 'Body work—regulation of a swimmer body': an autoethnography from an Australian elite swimmer. Sport, Education and Society, 16 (1). pp. 35-50.

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Abstract

This paper contributes to studies on sociology and the body by exploring my bodily experiences as an Australian elite swimmer in an autoethnographic framework. More specifically, it focuses on the relationship between the regulatory practices of others on my body and my development of self-regulatory practices. The stories in this paper reveal evidence of regulatory practices occurring from four different domains within the Australian elite swimming culture—the coach, the mother, the peers and the self. I have named the regulatory physiological practices as 'ethnophysiological' as they were triggered in the social context of Australian swimming and were legitimated through 'values packaged in a scientific wrapping'. Autoethnography, an ‘autobiographical genre of writing’ has been utilised as it enables the reader to vicariously share my bodily experiences, bestowing a voice of authority to my body to reveal personal experiences, voices and feelings. Within this paper, I will re-tell my stories of being an elite swimmer. I will detail stories of enaction, coach and peer regulation and self-regulation occurring within the elite culture persisting my career over a nine-year period. I use Sparkes' question in regard to embodiment to reflexively shape my analysis; 'what do my memories reveal about the socialisation of my body' and draw on literature relevant to sociology and the body.

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