Consensus, Tensions, and Contradictions in the Articulation of Body, Health, and Gender in Physical Education Classes

Abstract

This article seeks to explore the interrelation between "healthy bodies" and the social construction of the sexed body as it materializes in Physical Education classes, based on an analysis of observations and interviews. The objective is to examine the connections that teachers establish between "Physical Education" and "health," under the premise that any inquiry into this research object would be reductionist without an analysis of the role played by the sex-gender system. To this end, a unit of analysis was implemented, composed of Physical Education teachers at the secondary level of a privately managed educational institution in the City of Buenos Aires. The findings reveal that sport emerges as the most efficient means for developing the body and promoting healthy practices. However, both the sports practices themselves and the physical qualities derived from them, as well as teachers’ expectations, representations, and assessment methods, vary according to the students' genitality. The boundaries of "healthy bodies" lie at the edge of the social construction of the "sexed body," shaped by the cultural mandate of what a body "can" or "must" be or do.