Building masculinities through sport: a study of physical activity in prison contexts

This article examines how imprisonment reshapes incarcerated men’s masculine identities, focusing on how sport and physical activity contribute to the reproduction, negotiation, and transformation of masculinities in prison. The study draws on a two-and-a-half-year ethnography conducted in a high-security prison in Catalonia, comprising 340 hours of participant observation and interviews with 30 participants, including incarcerated individuals and prison professionals. The findings show that imprisonment entails a loss of autonomy, identity, control, and social roles, generating vulnerability and requiring men to reconstruct their masculinity. In this process, weight training becomes a resource for restoring self-esteem, security, power, and status. The muscular body operates as a symbol of hegemonic masculinity, intimidation, and positioning within prison hierarchies. However, the study also identifies practices such as yoga, dance, and solidarity-based activities that foster alternative forms of masculinity centred on emotional expression, cooperation, empathy, and self-awareness. The article concludes that sport can both reinforce and challenge dominant masculine norms in prison. Its main contribution is twofold: it shows how the prison context makes sport and physical activity particularly significant sites for masculine (re)construction, while also highlighting the potential of diverse physical practices to generate alternative masculinities within a hypermasculine environment.