Abstract
As Japan’s rapidly ageing society continues to expand, bodily practices targeting the ageing body, such as sports facilities for the elderly and anti-ageing goods, have become ubiquitous. Previous studies have shown that such practices are of value to the elderly, enabling them to improve their quality of life and to redefine their identity. However, these studies have not fully explained why the elderly desire such values and how they acquire them.
Recognizing the problematic nature of this lack of deeper understanding, this paper examines the case of elderly male bodybuilders at Tokyo’s Gym S, focusing on their practices to reveal how they derive value from their bodybuilding. The research finds that elderly bodybuilders do not view their bodily practices as a solution to physical ageing. Rather, they derive value from being different from those they view as “the ordinary elderly,” those members of Gym S who work out in order to promote good health. The elderly male bodybuilders distinguish themselves from “the ordinary elderly” by seeking new images of their bodies and through acceptance of their ageing.
In conclusion, this paper argues that the bodily practices of bodybuilding among the elderly could possibly promote ageing as “abnormal,” while they could also elevate the body image of the elderly in spite of the body’s natural ageing process. This paper points out the necessity of examining how the ageing body and bodily practices are connected through investigations of the lived experiences of the elderly.
