Work it Out: The Spatial Rhetoric of Curves Gyms

• In Event: Critical Cultural Analysis of the Body: Technology, Medicine, Space and Gender

Abstract

We examine the rhetoric of the fitness franchise, Curves. The study of women-only space is applied to the spatial design of Curves, to illuminate the contradictions that exist between the rhetorical claims of the company and the material actuality of the centers. While Curves attempts to create a safe and comfortable environment for members, the very structure of this niche gym franchise is “postfeminist”, capitalizing upon women’s bodily insecurities, and further engraining societal pressures.

Authors

• Brandis DeZon, San Diego State Univ

• Valerie Renegar, San Diego State Univ

• Charles Goehring, San Diego State Univ