Sou como eu quero ao me olhar no espelho : construção social do chamado corpo perfeito e das identidades de homens e mulheres que frequentam ginásios na Cidade de Maputo

Abstract

The present work intends to analyze how the different social constructs of the so-called perfect body and how the identities of men and women who seek to achieve this physical ideal of beauty. The central argument of the study is that through the analysis of the ideal of the body pursued by men and women surveyed there is access to the system of perceptions of body patterns that influence the self-esteem of the respondents as well as the various perceptions of body patterns established by society already that the body attests to a social mark that defines certain standards of beauty accepted in certain social groups. Methodologically, this research is of a qualitative nature based on the daily life of these people, and starting from our objectives, we proceed with the accomplishment of interviews and observations as tools that helped us collect relevant information analyzed and interpreted in the light of the theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism. The use of Blumer's theory of symbolic interactionism (1969) allowed us to understand how men and women who practice bodybuilding reproduce and recreate certain standards imposed by society. In turn, the preference for the use of the concept of social identity brought by Goffman (1988) helped us to understand the mechanisms of manipulation and self-affirmation in the context of his social reality. Certain groups of men and women are forced to assume an identity assigned and built by themselves as a way of self-defining themselves in society based on the ideal of corporal beauty. (TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)