This dissertation examines women’s fitness culture in Minsk, Belarus. While fitness is a global phenomenon, it has received very little attention within anthropology. I argue that this seemingly unpolitical subject plays an important role in shaping subjectivities and social relations in post-Soviet Belarus. Belarus, which is located on the fault line between Russia and the EU, has so far not transitioned to anything resembling either capitalism or democracy. While the possibility for political change has seemed nearly unimaginable under President Alexander Lukashenko’s long tenure, the recent penetration of global consumer culture—in particular, the proliferation of fitness clubs and a new obsession with health and wellness—has nonetheless helped to shape a different type of citizen-subject. Based on 17 months of fieldwork conducted between 2016-2018, this research explores the ways that fitness targets not only people’s bodies, but also their inner lives and aspirations. I argue that fitness culture promotes a set of orientations associated with neoliberal economic regimes: constant investment in the self, flexibility, self-reliance, and relentless positivity. Each chapter of this dissertation demonstrates that fitness—its practices, discourses, and spaces—helps to reorient local understandings of health, physical activity, leisure, the gendered body, and even public etiquette. Exploring the values carried by fitness culture and their impact on a “still-socialist” place, this dissertation outlines a new research agenda for a politically engaged anthropology of fitness.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation examines women’s fitness culture in Minsk, Belarus. While fitness is a global phenomenon, it has received very little attention within anthropology. I argue that this seemingly unpolitical subject plays an important role in shaping subjectivities and social relations in post-Soviet Belarus. Belarus, which is located on the fault line between Russia and the EU, has so far not transitioned to anything resembling either capitalism or democracy. While the possibility for political change has seemed nearly unimaginable under President Alexander Lukashenko’s long tenure, the recent penetration of global consumer culture—in particular, the proliferation of fitness clubs and a new obsession with health and wellness—has nonetheless helped to shape a different type of citizen-subject. Based on 17 months of fieldwork conducted between 2016-2018, this research explores the ways that fitness targets not only people’s bodies, but also their inner lives and aspirations. I argue that fitness culture promotes a set of orientations associated with neoliberal economic regimes: constant investment in the self, flexibility, self-reliance, and relentless positivity. Each chapter of this dissertation demonstrates that fitness—its practices, discourses, and spaces—helps to reorient local understandings of health, physical activity, leisure, the gendered body, and even public etiquette. Exploring the values carried by fitness culture and their impact on a “still-socialist” place, this dissertation outlines a new research agenda for a politically engaged anthropology of fitness.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Curtin, Emily J"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Anthropology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Katherine Verdery"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Gerald Creed","Murphy Halliburton","Elena Gapova"],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-09-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-09-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:14Z","subjects":["Social and Behavioral Sciences","fitness","health","the body","consumer culture","neoliberalism","post-socialism"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4560","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Katherine Verdery"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Gerald Creed","Murphy Halliburton","Elena Gapova"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Curtin, Emily J"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-09-30T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Anthropology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social and Behavioral Sciences","fitness","health","the body","consumer culture","neoliberalism","post-socialism"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4560"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation examines women’s fitness culture in Minsk, Belarus. While fitness is a global phenomenon, it has received very little attention within anthropology. I argue that this seemingly unpolitical subject plays an important role in shaping subjectivities and social relations in post-Soviet Belarus. Belarus, which is located on the fault line between Russia and the EU, has so far not transitioned to anything resembling either capitalism or democracy. While the possibility for political change has seemed nearly unimaginable under President Alexander Lukashenko’s long tenure, the recent penetration of global consumer culture—in particular, the proliferation of fitness clubs and a new obsession with health and wellness—has nonetheless helped to shape a different type of citizen-subject. Based on 17 months of fieldwork conducted between 2016-2018, this research explores the ways that fitness targets not only people’s bodies, but also their inner lives and aspirations. I argue that fitness culture promotes a set of orientations associated with neoliberal economic regimes: constant investment in the self, flexibility, self-reliance, and relentless positivity. Each chapter of this dissertation demonstrates that fitness—its practices, discourses, and spaces—helps to reorient local understandings of health, physical activity, leisure, the gendered body, and even public etiquette. Exploring the values carried by fitness culture and their impact on a “still-socialist” place, this dissertation outlines a new research agenda for a politically engaged anthropology of fitness.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Fitness Culture: Making New Persons in Quasi-Socialist Belarus"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Katherine Verdery"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Gerald Creed","Murphy Halliburton","Elena Gapova"],"dc:creator":["Curtin, Emily J"],"dc:date.available":["2023-09-30T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation examines women’s fitness culture in Minsk, Belarus. While fitness is a global phenomenon, it has received very little attention within anthropology. I argue that this seemingly unpolitical subject plays an important role in shaping subjectivities and social relations in post-Soviet Belarus. Belarus, which is located on the fault line between Russia and the EU, has so far not transitioned to anything resembling either capitalism or democracy. While the possibility for political change has seemed nearly unimaginable under President Alexander Lukashenko’s long tenure, the recent penetration of global consumer culture—in particular, the proliferation of fitness clubs and a new obsession with health and wellness—has nonetheless helped to shape a different type of citizen-subject. Based on 17 months of fieldwork conducted between 2016-2018, this research explores the ways that fitness targets not only people’s bodies, but also their inner lives and aspirations. I argue that fitness culture promotes a set of orientations associated with neoliberal economic regimes: constant investment in the self, flexibility, self-reliance, and relentless positivity. Each chapter of this dissertation demonstrates that fitness—its practices, discourses, and spaces—helps to reorient local understandings of health, physical activity, leisure, the gendered body, and even public etiquette. Exploring the values carried by fitness culture and their impact on a “still-socialist” place, this dissertation outlines a new research agenda for a politically engaged anthropology of fitness.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4560"],"dc:subject":["Social and Behavioral Sciences","fitness","health","the body","consumer culture","neoliberalism","post-socialism"],"dc:title":["Fitness Culture: Making New Persons in Quasi-Socialist Belarus"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Anthropology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:14Z"}