February 13, 2025
Is Physical Activity for Any-Body? (Research Seminar)
Vancouver Campus | 12:30pm–1:30pm
Is physical activity for any-body? In/exclusion and the mythical norm in physical culture
Abstract: How/can physical activity be for any-body? What would or could that look like, in policy, in practice, in ‘vibes’? Dr. Griffin’s research aims to unpack the relationship between health and/or wellness imperatives (the neoliberal and moral obligation to engage in health or self-care related activities), the body positivity movement, sport and physical activity participation, and bodies of difference (bodies that do not conform to the norms of a society or culture on the basis of dis/ability, age, body size, gender, socioeconomic status, race, and/or sexuality). Dr. Griffin will discuss findings from her multi-phased SSHRC-funded project titled Physical Activity for Any-Body, which was a collaborative ethnography and appreciative inquiry employing social media analyses, narrative interviews, body mapping, and focus groups. She will share the insights that she and her research team have gleaned thus far, interpreting these data using critical (disability, queer, and race) theories and the lens of embodiment. Collectively, this work seeks to understand and ultimately strengthen the facets of physical cultures that make them inclusive of all community members and the bodies that they live in.
Bio: Dr. Meridith Griffin (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health, Aging and Society at McMaster University. Her research focuses on embodied lived experiences of physical activity and active leisure participation. She often takes a life course perspective to understand how and why people make choices and engage (or not) in movement-related pursuits and other health-conscious behaviours. Rooted in a critical perspective that straddles the disciplinary boundaries of social gerontology, sociology of sport/physical activity, leisure studies, and sociological social psychology, she employs qualitative methodologies, including participatory, ethnographic, narrative, visual and arts-based methods.
Location: Life Sciences Building, Room 1001
This seminar will be in hybrid format. Please reach out to kin.communications@ubc.ca for the Zoom details.
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