Speaking of the self and understanding physical activity participation: what discursive psychology can tell us about an old problem

Abstract

Since McGannon and Mauws' article on discursive psychology and adherence to physical activity, papers have extended the dialogue towards developing associated qualitative research methods to understand sport and exercise. The present article furthers this dialogue in the context of understanding the self and women's physical activity participation using discursive psychology and discourse analysis. An example of discursive psychology ‘in use’ was employed to theorise women's physical self (i.e. who they are) and physical activity behaviour as a collection of conversations within broader discourse(s). The power relations perpetuated by a micro‐talk within discourses also contributed towards theorising a discursive psychological view of the self and physical activity participation. The implications of a discursive psychological view of the self combined with discourse analysis for understanding women's physical participation are discussed within the context of this example.