ABSTRACT
The body – as physical capital to be honed, augmented and displayed – is central to leisure in contemporary consumer culture. And just as the body is a status object, the places in which the body is tended, maintained, and improved are also spaces of status. Health club membership is marketed as not only a leisure pursuit and a healthy use of discretionary income; membership is also an investment in your status profile: membership in the “right” club is an indispensable element of the lifestyles of the status-conscious.
