Rendering the Body: Online visual practices in fitness communities.

Photographic self-images have been around since the dawn of photographic technologies. The first self-image was arguably Hippolyte Bayard's Self-portrait of a Drowned Man (1839-1840), in which the artist depicts himself as a corpse. The making of self-images indeed reveals a fundamental aspect of visual practices in Euro-American cultures: the desire to construct identity through a stylized display of the body. Developments in technology – such as highly accessible cameras and online platforms for sharing images – have created an environment more conducive to this desire than in any other time in history. Social media users are expected to choose profile pictures for themselves and the making of 'selfies' is part of the daily life of millions of people. Self-imaging practices are particularly common in fitness communities, members of which are actively engaged in cultivating a fitter and stronger body. Many make Instagram accounts to share their self-images and follow and interact with others who do the same. In several motivational Facebook groups, sharing self-images is a regular practice. The online visual practices within these communities indicate that images are not merely a matter of representation, but that that they are embodied 'actants' and exert powerful effects on viewing bodies. This study hypothesizes that these practices show an intricate interchange between images and viewing bodies, revealing the way in which images can potently structure our lives.

Keywords:BODY IMAGING, VISUAL COMMUNICATION

Disciplines:Visual communication, Cultural media, Literatures in English, Other European literatures, Phenomenology