ABSTRACT
The words "masculinity" and "femininity" are often put in quotation marks, as are so many other central words in social science. The body techniques used in contemporary gym culture were originally constructed within a historical framework of hegemonic masculinity. The body techniques developed within the bodybuilding subculture are used by people who want to sculpture their bodies into perfection, but not necessarily into the image of the bulky, hard and huge male body. Bodybuilding is no longer just a matter of huge bodies and the development of a particular subculture, but a body technique and a particular discipline. The ideal of the Greek sculptured body - a body which expressed will-power, narcissism and discipline - played a significant role in the development of the contemporary physical culture and fitness movement. The chapter focuses on the discipline, power and narcissism - central aspects of masculinity in contemporary culture.
