The influence of social body perception on women doing sports: The case of Düzce

The meaning assigned to the female body is differentiated in the history due to the structure of society and female body forced to be changed. In the postmodern period, the aesthetic aspect of female body is highlighted, which led to the concept of idealized body measures. Women were expected to internalize these ideal measures voluntarily and to reach them up. Therefore factors such as physical activity and sports have also regarded as tools to attain this ideal body. The aim of this study is to understand the meanings that society imposes on the female body and the effects of social body perception on women's tendency to sports. 15 single and 13 married women were determined as a study group, who were the members of the fitness center with the highest number of female members in Düzce. Qualitative research method was conducted in the research and data were collected via interview method. As a result of this research, it is determined that women are influenced by the social perception of idealized female body measurements, so they are not satisfied with their own bodies and that they are doing sports to reach this "ideal" body.