Music, Movement Culture, and the Politics of Bodily Health

Abstract

Physical fitness has long been a central preoccupation within American culture. One of the most influential publications in this area was Physical Culture. It was founded by entrepreneur and selfproclaimed “fitness guru” Bernarr Macfadden in 1899 and ran until about 1961. Macfadden did not invent the term “physical culture” but rather appropriated it from a preexisting trend that glorified health and wellness above all else. The magazine presented what its contributors felt constituted “sound health”: exercise, disease prevention, hygiene, bodily symmetry, and a balanced diet. Many of the articles in early issues of Physical Culture were opinion pieces that claimed authority by citing research in the fields of psychology, phrenology, and biology. Authors professed to know the secrets to increasing brain size and output, “supreme” bodily control, and healing. They presented readers with formulas that promised perfect physical fitness, optimized neurological function, and social superiority. The magazine’s central premise was simple. Fitness was a tool available to everyone, and there were no excuses for not improving your health. Macfadden summarized it in his nowfamous dictum that he boldly printed on the magazine’s cover: “WEAKNESS IS A CRIME. DON’T BE A CRIMINAL!”1 What if we were to read Physical Culture from a musicological perspective? Musicologists already know that music is inseparable from