The purpose of the current article was to perform a systematic review of 52 studies in which the drive for muscularity (DFM) has been measured. We included all the papers we found published from 2000 until May 2012. Variables most consistently related to DFM are (1) gender, with males reporting higher levels than females; (2) anxiety and body shame; (3) perceptions that the ideal physique involves high muscularity; (4) behaviours associated with increasing muscularity, including dietary manipulation and resistance training; and (5) the internalisation of a muscular physique as the standard to which to aspire. The DFM was inconsistently correlated with self-esteem, physical characteristics and actual-ideal discrepancies. Research has focused on white male students and been cross-sectional and descriptive. Further theory-driven work is needed with a wider range of populations to enhance the conceptualisation, measurement and understanding of the DFM.Peer reviewe

Rugby is a sport that has given Fiji international recognition. The professionalisation of rugby has led to a growing number of elite players emigrating from Fiji – often temporarily but sometimes permanently – to metropolitan countries, with an estimated 450 athletes currently involved in foreign competitions. Whilst Fijians have a long history of migration to metropolitan societies, the recent global dispersion of rugby players has added new dimensions and complexities. This article intends to shed light upon this migratory phenomenon by exploring what it means for these Fijians to ply their trade in foreign leagues. Based on semi-structured interviews, the article examines the experiences of Fijian players who are currently or have previously been contracted by metropolitan rugby clubs and what these experiences mean to them regarding their sense of collective identity and pride, especially in the context of politico-economic disparities between Fiji and the host countries. In doing so, particular attention is paid to the voices and agency of those athletes who claim rugby migration as a space for counter-hegemonic collective self-expression. The article thus seeks to contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of the relationship between sports labour migration and collective local identification and resistance in an increasingly globalised world.

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In this essay we seek to approach football migration-related issues from a qualitative angle and examine specific, personal layers of those via the lived experiences of Hungarian migrant footballers. That is, we shall shed light on some of the numerous personal and occupational struggles, difficulties and uncertainties Hungarian professional footballers encountered at varied stages of their footballing transfer after the collapse of communism. Hence, one of our aims is to draw wider attention to motivational forces, in the form of push and pull factors that can either facilitate or hinder migratory processes and, at a later stage, impact on migratory experiences. We will then consider the selection of potential host countries and the degree of control Hungarian professional footballers exercise over choosing their countries of destination. Finally, we examine issues related to the clarity of contract negotiations prior to and during the migratory experience. Our analysis is sociologically-driven and embedded in empirical, qualitative evidence gathered by semi-structured interviews with migrant Hungarian professional footballers.

Strength and conditioning (S&C) has become a chief part of athletes’ physiological preparation. Despite S&C’s growing presence across sports, women coaches have been generally marginalized and underrepresented. This study explores female S&C coaches’ experiences and coping mechanisms in a male-dominated industry. Semi-structured interviews with 15 female S&C coaches were conducted. The main themes identified from interview data are organizational politics, impression management, and humor. The findings suggest that women S&C coaches are often in subservient positions and have to adopt some traditional, male-generated subcultural practices to fit in. They carefully manage their coaching front stage to generate an impression that is expected and accepted in the given milieu. In their efforts to fit in, women often find themselves in a multiplicity of power matrices that involve a continuous negotiation of gender identity, internal politics, and sexist banter.