{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/124133"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/124133","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Doing the heavy lifting: A qualitative study of athletes’ experiences of community, identity, and (dis)identification in CrossFit","abstract":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-09-16 without embargo terms","abstract_html":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-09-16 without embargo terms","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Makos, Shana"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Thompson, Charee M","Barley, William C","Bigman-Galimore, Cabral","Koven, Michèle"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-05","date_published":"2024-05","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:00Z","subjects":["Community","Identity","Social Identity Theory","Identification","Disidentification","Interpersonal Communication","Crossfit","Sport","Fitness","Inclusion","Exclusion","Communication"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2024 Shana Makos"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124133","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Thompson, Charee M","Barley, William C","Bigman-Galimore, Cabral","Koven, Michèle"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Makos, Shana"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2024-05","2024-02-09"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Community","Identity","Social Identity Theory","Identification","Disidentification","Interpersonal Communication","Crossfit","Sport","Fitness","Inclusion","Exclusion","Communication"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2024 Shana Makos"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124133"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-09-16 without embargo terms","The student, Shana Makos, accepted the attached license on 2024-01-29 at 08:56.","The student, Shana Makos, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2024-01-29 at 09:03.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2024-02-09 at 10:54.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #20210 on 2024-09-16 at 00:33:03","Community is a concept that has long been researched by scholars in a variety of disciplines. However, when turning to interpersonal communication literature as a guide for better understanding community-related issues, it is evident that the field lacks theory about what community is and how interpersonal communication processes impact community experiences. Moreover, despite decades of literature articulating how social situations influence personal identity, scant research specifically addresses the role of identity and (dis)identification in community experiences. To address these gaps in literature, this study explored experiences of community in CrossFit, a divisive group exercise regimen that identifies “community” and “inclusion” as central parts of the experience. Through 50 one-on-one interviews with current and former CrossFit athletes and more than 100 hours of fieldwork in two CrossFit gyms in the United States, this study explores (a) how athletes experience (or not) community in CrossFit, (b) the interpersonal processes that facilitate (dis)identification with community in CrossFit, and (c) how athletes manage disidentification in CrossFit. The findings forward a model of community in CrossFit that situates community as a relational process constituted in communication along practical, personal, interpersonal, political, and spatial dimensions. In addition, the findings underscore that interpersonal communication is the vehicle through which community is initiated, sustained, and terminated. This investigation highlights the importance of intentionally cultivating community experiences; in the absence of intentional facilitation, individuals are left on their own to seek out and provide affirming interactions with others. This study challenges current conceptualizations of community which largely ignore the role of interpersonal communication in community interactions. Finally, this study underscores the ways in which CrossFit communities can, at times, be inhospitable for affirming experiences of community, especially for people with marginalized identities. The study provides both theoretical and practical contributions about experiences of community in a group exercise context."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Doing the heavy lifting: A qualitative study of athletes’ experiences of community, identity, and (dis)identification in CrossFit"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Thompson, Charee M","Barley, William C","Bigman-Galimore, Cabral","Koven, Michèle"],"dc:creator":["Makos, Shana"],"dc:date":["2024-05","2024-02-09"],"dc:description":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-09-16 without embargo terms","The student, Shana Makos, accepted the attached license on 2024-01-29 at 08:56.","The student, Shana Makos, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2024-01-29 at 09:03.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2024-02-09 at 10:54.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #20210 on 2024-09-16 at 00:33:03","Community is a concept that has long been researched by scholars in a variety of disciplines. However, when turning to interpersonal communication literature as a guide for better understanding community-related issues, it is evident that the field lacks theory about what community is and how interpersonal communication processes impact community experiences. 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The findings forward a model of community in CrossFit that situates community as a relational process constituted in communication along practical, personal, interpersonal, political, and spatial dimensions. In addition, the findings underscore that interpersonal communication is the vehicle through which community is initiated, sustained, and terminated. This investigation highlights the importance of intentionally cultivating community experiences; in the absence of intentional facilitation, individuals are left on their own to seek out and provide affirming interactions with others. This study challenges current conceptualizations of community which largely ignore the role of interpersonal communication in community interactions. Finally, this study underscores the ways in which CrossFit communities can, at times, be inhospitable for affirming experiences of community, especially for people with marginalized identities. The study provides both theoretical and practical contributions about experiences of community in a group exercise context."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124133"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2024 Shana Makos"],"dc:subject":["Community","Identity","Social Identity Theory","Identification","Disidentification","Interpersonal Communication","Crossfit","Sport","Fitness","Inclusion","Exclusion","Communication"],"dc:title":["Doing the heavy lifting: A qualitative study of athletes’ experiences of community, identity, and (dis)identification in CrossFit"],"dc:type":["text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Communication"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:00Z"}