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OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA Sociology of Sport Journal, 1988, 5, 50-62

A Field Studies Project in a City Wealth and Leisure Club

Bede Redican and Debbie Sue Hadley Newman and Westhill Colleges

In recent publications of Featherstone (1982) and Orbach (1985) it is claimed that women are concerned with attaining and displaying the ideal outer body image, and with taking responsibility for maintaining their inner body health. This project examines the extent to which women involved in regular attendance at aerobic exercise sessions at a city health and leisure club perceived their participation in terms of these foreshadowed issues. Methodologically, it draws upon two techniques from the field-studies approach to social investigation. A participant observation program was carried out and a specific interview technique was used. Through the subsequent theoryldata dialogue, the extent to which these foreshadowed issues and others emerged as significant is considered.

This project exemplifies a particular type of field-studies investigation. Theoretically, it reflects an opportunity signaled by the recent work of Anthony Giddens (1979, 1984) for examining sites of sporting activity without slavish ad- herence to abstract theories. It seeks to shed light on the broad contours of social change, the moving social scene, that is daily constructed by the complexities of human social interaction in real places (Thrift, 1985). This project involves three stages: First, it reviews a relevant collection of published literature in a clearly defined area, to identify foreshadowed issues (see Hamrnersley & Atkin- son, 1983). Second, it reports a brief fieldwork exercise on a selected site of sports activity using an interview technique to identify the perceptions of the situation as seen by those involved (see Merton & Kendall, 1946). Finally, it involves a theoryldata dialogue that traces the extent to which any single foreshadowed issue emerges substantiated. In grand field research terms, it is necessarily a limited exercise; it is merely concerned with one abstraction from reality and fails to capture its fullness, but it chronicles an exercise in theoryldata dialogue and some critical experience of a developing field research technique.

Featherstone (1982), Orbach (1985), and Ferguson (1978) identify one sub-

Direct all correspondence to Bede Redican, Department of Physical Education, Newman and Westhill Colleges, Genners Lane, Bartley Green, Birmingham, B32 3NT England.

A Health and Leisure Club 51

stantive issue for this paper. They draw attention to an outer body image that is both symbolic of social and career success and one that is claimed to be achievd by successful young women. In addition, it is an outer body image that is commercially exploited as a requirement for those aspiring to be successful. On the basis of reading and observing, we decided to examine whether a group of women, who were successful and whose behavior indicated a life-style committed to the pursuit of this ideal body image, actually perceived the situation as claimed by Featherstone, Orbach, and Ferguson. We sought to determine the extent to which these women perceived outer body image as a feature of impression management and as a factor that gave meaning to their "club" behavior. It was acknowledged at the outset that the pursuit of inner body health and maintenance may also be a reason for participation, and a legitimate basis for their commitment to an outer body image. Despite the cautions recently expressed by authors such as Solo- mon (1985) and Legwold (1985), our observations encouraged us to examine the extent to which club members believed that exercise was good for them and that its benefits were a sufficient reason for their commitment to club activities. The field-studies methodology, although requiring an explicit statement of these foreshadowed issues, also permitted alternative or additional perceptions of the situation to emerge as the study progressed. Emerging from this study was a group social factor also perceived by club members to explain their behavior and commitment. This was not a foreshadowed issue, but interviewees claimed they perceived the club to be a good place to "mill" with other successful women as well as an important place to be for a substantial part of their leisure time.

The Foreshadowed Issues

Images Aimed at the Successfil Woman

Featherstone (1982) claims that the vast range of dietary, weight reduc- tion, exercise, and cosmetic products on the market point to the significance of appearance among contemporary women. In particular, commercial advertising aimed at those women who can afford to buy has created an image of what the successful woman should look like and what she needs to buy and do in order to achieve this image. Orbach (1985) argues that the past decade has witnessed an increase in women's preoccupation with body image. The mass involvement in fashion, the marketing of fitness, the aesthetic of thinness, and the presentation of women in perfect "bits" has coalesced to stoke up the fires of body insecurity.

A good example of image creation is identified by Ferguson (1978) who, after studying British women's magazines, viewed the covers as a source of social control. In their subtlety the covers inform, correct, direct, and display what is considered to be the appropriate identities and attributes that readers should possess. The message is that the more the body approximates the idealized images of youth, beauty, health, and fitness, the higher will be its exchange value. What you look like and feel like, and how you present yourself, are proclaimed the keys to success in contemporary commercial society. This project focuses upon a group of women who belong to a private health and leisure club in a major British city. The extent to which they perceive the club as a place where they can aspire to the image expected of them is one issue in the theoryldata dialogue.

52 Redican and Hadley

Body Maintenance, the kgitimate Basis of the Image

Commercial firms that promote the "look good, feel great" ideology have been quick to link the attainment of such idealized images to the grain of truth that lies in body maintenance. The care of the inner body is a legitimate excuse for outer body display. Drawing upon that part of the health education program that links inner body maintenance to attractive and socially acceptable body presentation and career success, the media maximizes image attainment by promoting the sports equipment and accessories required to socialize with successful people in status conscious settings. It is too early to measure the effect of publications that question the relationship between exercise and health, such as those of Solo- mon (1985) or Legwold (1985). One consequence may be the "sports chic"- not so much the promotion of sports participation itself as the promotion of its related social attributes that may be bought rather than earned through physical toil.

Yet the myth that exercise will retard inner body deterioration has sufficient legitimacy in the medical profession for commercial interests to exploit it successfully in the exercise marketplace. This interest in profit and the young woman's anxiety over health, her susceptibility to fashion and status, have combined to raise the importance of appearance and bodily presentation. Through advertising, an ever-expanding layer of desires is created among those who have discretionary income. Young (1984) claims that a capitalist economy needs to create a neurotic desire for surplus purchasing. The belief that exercise is good for you is sufficient to support the gradual and continuing commodification of sports. It may have already reached the stage that when advertising provides sty- lized images of the body and stresses the cosmetic benefits of body maintenance, it is taken seriously. Women in this group may be especially susceptible to imagery. As Greer (1971) points out, demands are always being made upon women to contour their bodies to please the eyes of others. And Orbach (1985) claims that women's involvement with their bodies has actually increased with time. Fashion and appearance are not just a form of entertainment or a pleasurable activity, they are imperatives. It is hinted that career women are even more pre- occupied with body image and fitness today than their predecessors were. The extent to which the women members of the health and leisure club examined here perceived outer body display and presentation as a legitimate regard for inner body care and maintenance is another issue in the theoryldata dialogue.

Summary of Foreshadowed Issues

On the basis of the literature reviewed, participant observation during the first 5 weeks in the field studies site (see next section), and some tutorial discussion, these foreshadowed issues are noted:

1. To what extent do club members perceive the club as a place for social interaction where they can legitimately aspire to achieve the image expected of them by the commercially defined media?

2. To what extent do club members perceive the need for inner body maintenance as a legitimate reason for outer body appearance and display?


The Fieldwork Process

Selected for the fieldwork exercise was a privately owned health and leisure club that had operated a specific policy for 4 years to encourage working women to become active members. The club's facilities included four gymnasiums, one of which was fully mirrored where the aerobic training program took place con- tinually from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Membership was closed at 500 members, of which approximately 160 were actively involved in aerobics, from whom the in- formation in this study was gathered. The club itself was selected because it operated an aerobic training program, it was regarded as a posh commerc&ly dependent club, and access to it was convenient. One fieldworker was given free membership for the time it took to become familiar with the club procedures, to build up trust with members, and to eventually conduct the interviews.

The familiarization period lasted 5 weeks, during which time the fieldworker attended classes as a normal club member observing, listening, and care- fully identifying 12 members who could be approached for interviews at the next stage. They were selected because they attended every week, had been members for-over a year, were females who represented a cross-section of the age range, and had agreed to be interviewed (see Table 1). This final point was important because although access to the club and permission to interview members had been given by the gatekeeper, it was deemed necessary to negotiate access to every individual selected for interviews. The interviewees were given a plausi- ble account of the fieldwork exercise as well as guarantees of confidentiality. Interviews were arranged at a time suitable to the interviewee in a quiet place. The fieldworker was introduced as a sports student studying women's opinions of sport.

Table 1

Selected Female lnterviewees

Age Occupation Marital status

Model Law secretary Secretary Nurse Personal secretary Shop manager Dancer Senior staff nurse Bank cashier Bank cashier VDU operator Market researcher

Single Single Single Single Married Married Single Married Single Single Single Single


The interview process adopted here may be described in part as the focused interview technique (Merton & Kendall, 1946), wherein the interviewer plays an active role in the conversation by representing and summarizing the views expressed from time to time to encourage the interviewee to search for deeper meaning. The technique permits ongoing revision of emerging perceptions by both researcher and interviewee during the interview. Four significant features are identified. The technique is nondirected in that the interviewee can express what is significant to her rather than consider matters presumed to be important to the interviewer. What is on the interviewee's mind rather than her opinion about what is on the interviewer's mind is the central focus. Second, the fieldworker avoids the role of expert, educator, or propagandist. Third, the fieldworker adopts the sympathetic, naive listener approach and regularly attempts to summarize what she thinks the interviewee means. Finally, it asks the interviewee to reexperience the situations she refers to and to view them from different angles and under different circumstances. In this way, combined with observations during the first 5 weeks, it is proposed that the perceptions elicited from these interviews may either confirm, refute, or modify the strength of the foreshadowed issues.

Limited time for the fieldwork exercise was the crucial factor in the emphasis on the interview program. More observation and analysis of episodes at the club would have provided some further validity for the perceptions elicited from the interviews. "Probably much more profound than what people can actually say is what, as an analyst, you can infer from seeing what they do" (Giddens, 1982, p. 73).

Observations were taken each time the fieldworker visited the club, and were recorded as a field diary. Random conversation relevant to the fieldwork, incidents that occurred at the front desk regarding admissions, background in- formation on members' habits, social connections, friendship groups, and any comments concerning the fieldworker's presence in the club were recorded in this way. To this small extent at least, the holistic participation observation exercise was attempted.

Fieldwork of this kind has a reflexive character. The fieldworker can neither escape the world in order to study it nor avoid having an effect upon it in the study process. No data may be regarded as pure data, and consequently a more realistic aim, adopted here, was to interpret the data obtained, acknowledge the foreshadowed issues (the surrounding developing theory), and recognize the limi- tations implicit in the interview interaction itself. To be explicit about the foreshadowed issues and the fieldwork methodology is the first stage in the process of seeking valid understanding.

Each interviewee was interviewed twice for approximately 10 minutes each time. She was thanked for taking time to be interviewed and was again assured of the confidentiality and voluntary nature of it. The conversation in the initial interview began with, "I am a sports student doing some research into women's opinions of sport; can you remember why you first decided to come to the gym?" If the interviewee introduced discussion in the broad areas (to look good, feel great, mill with similar friends, relax from stress of work, etc.), the interview would proceed, following the focused interview technique without intervention. But it was often necessary to introduce questions to give the interview bound-


aries: What did they like about the club? What is it that maintains interest for more than 12 months? In the second interview, the interviewee was asked to expand, illustrate, and elaborate upon what was said in the first interview. Notes taken during the interviews were written up in full on the day they took place. The interviewees' own categories and perceptions were used to index what was said.

The Data and Findings

This section is designed as a theoryldata dialogue. It examines how the interviewees perceived their attendance at the club. Using their words and their categories, it proposes that the interviewees' perceptions were organized around two major issues: (a) the importance of striving for the ideal image and (b) the opportunity to socialize with peers and display their image achievement. In the first case, an issue foreshadowed in the literature and in our experience emerged somewhat substantiated. In the second case, an additional issue, not anticipated at the outset, became more significant during the fieldwork. The foreshadowed issue, inner body maintainance, did achieve some support, but in the richness and variety of the fieldwork exercise it ranked third. This section examines the evidence surrounding the foreshadowed issues.

Outer Body Image

The initial and most frequently acknowledged influence on the women's attendance at the club was their concern with outer body image. The media had popularized the health and beauty ideology to the extent that they openly admitted to "following the fashion" and trying to "keep up with the image."

Television and magazine articles are a good thing for women-the things they tell us are how to improve and if I was to analyze myself, I do take notice of what they say-I think it's important to look my best even when I'm here. I keep exercising because I feel healthier, fitter, and look slimmer. Society gives me the impression all women should be slim, youthful looking, and fit. I feel I wasn't doing enough exercise, I now feel fitter and healthier. I eat less and get into nice clothes.

Despite the fact that none of the women were visibly overweight, all expressed a wish to lose weight. The ideal weight image was considered to be as- sociated with the belief that thinness was wonderful.

Through exercise I don't want to gain muscle but just lose inches. The benefits I've found in exercise are that I'm fitter, slimmer, and have a smaller appetite. I hate fat unfit people. You are more successful in everything if you're thin. You are more popular if you are thin and beautiful.

The women perceived attention to image achievement and subsequent regular attendance at the club as bordering on the obsessional. Perhaps the triggering element for them was the media's obsessive emphasis upon youth, energy, beau-


ty, and fitness, but they have embodied the imperative nature of it. They were under an onus to attend-a duty to conform to the commercial image.

I enjoy exercise and certainly feel better for it-healthwise. I came because I was worried about getting fat, old, and wrinkly. I'm interested in exercise to meet people and to feel fitter. If I don't come at least four times a week my mind and body don't feel the benefits. It seems to me that the onus is on us to improve ourselves.

The women felt that coming close to achieving the image and taking steps to regularly attend the sessions helped remove the guilt and affirmed their own sense of personal identity. The media message had made them feel insecure or added to the insecurity they already felt. As Greer (1971) pointed out, demands are always being made on women to contour their bodies to please others, and due to their insecurity they constantly capitulate to this demand. Orbach (1985) would say that for some women, not to exercise is to suffer the same kind of guilt women feel when eating chocolates.

I feel I've done something; I feel better myself for coming. I've the feeling of accomplishment backed up by the fact that it's done me good. I've a moderate desire to be fit. It seems a positive thing to do. My initial enthusiasm has waned and it's now a way of life. I'm committed-feel bad if I don't come. I feel lazy if I don't come. Feel guilty if I don't come.

Feel guilty about not training. Exercise tends to be an addictive thing. You start off by going a couple of times a week and end up going every day. If I don't go at least four times a week my mind and body don't feel the benefits.

The women's perceptions of the image were supported to some extent by the clothing they acquired. A general impression of the women's attire was one of sophistication. The emphasis was on detail-sweatbands, ankle warmers, and color coordinated outfits. All had a collection of "jog suits" and cited owning more than three, together with other accessories such as gym slippers, leotards, tights, ballet shoes, jazz shoes, and trainers. Eitzen (1984) stated that consumers had been convinced of the need to buy and show off only top-of-the-line equipment. Not all of the women wore top-of-the-line clothes, but the impression they all gave was a concern for display, looking right for the part and conforming to the image of participation proffered by the media.

In summary, the women were knowledgeable about the importance of the outer body image as a major factor in their attendance. They openly admitted to its almost obsessional pursuit, and perceived attendance and participation in aerobics as reducing the insecurity they felt about their outer body image. Partic- ipation plus acquiring the appropriate attire made them feel good.

Inner Body Maintenance

Many of the women voiced concern over their health and believed that by attending the health and leisure club their health had improved.

A Health and Leisure Club

I exercise to get and hopefully stay fit, strong, and healthy.

I feel healthier, eat healthier. My health has improved by coming here.

Cooper (1982), through questioning aerobic participants, found that their main reason for participation was the need to assume greater responsibility for their own health. They felt that the benefits were not just immediate but had long- term effects as well. Legwold (1985) also identified a growing concern for a healthier life-style, wherein people were prepared to pay to help foster a healthier body. Such attitudes were encouraged by the proliferation of articles, books, and advertisements claiming positive correlations between exercise and good health. It may also be claimed that exercise acts as a gathering point, a stimulus for individuals to change their diet or to stop smoking. The interviewees confirmed these points.

Through exercise there is less time to eat, and I am now more concerned over what I eat. It seems to be part of the image to eat "good" food, and actually it's what you feel like after a workout. I realized I'd have to give up smoking after my first class. If I didn't come, I'd be sitting at home watching TV-I've rationalized that sport is good. No one is pushing you but yourself. I would just go home, eat, and watch TV otherwise. I attend for enjoyment and personal mess.

In summary, the women were knowledgeable about the importance of adopt- ing instrumental strategies to combat deterioration. In the interviews, this per- ception of inner body maintenance was not as significant a feature as the outer body pursuit of the ideal image. The more recent cautions expressed about the direct causal effect of exercise on longevity and heart attacks (Legwold, 1985; Solomon, 1985) may not therefore significantly reduce the women's perceptions of the value of exercise and of regular club attendance.

Milling With Other Successfil Women

An additional issue emerged as the second most substantial issue in the data indexing process. Identified as the "social factor," it had two somewhat different dimensions (milling and ladies' club). The first dimension of the social factor is identified as milling.

The interviewees perceived the club as "a place to be" where other successful working, independent women gathered. It was a place to display their fitness and their image achievement and to dispel the strains of work. The club was near the hub of commercial activity in the city and provided easy after-work access. Occupational groups represented in the majority included accountants, lawyers, county court sheriffs, secretaries, and nurses in particular. All members were working women, and they claimed to be there to alleviate the day's strain.

The classes are exhausting, so troubles are forgotten. I can forget work here and channel my energy into exercise.


Someone came into the office and offered a complimentary visit. I now come to escape from my sedentary job, and I find I manage to wind down through exercise.

They perceived exercise as an escape from their desk in the day. Their dedication to push themselves and the glow of achievement afterward was evidence of their commitment. It may be inferred that they perceive exercise as "compensating," in Parker's (1983) terms, as seeking to make up for dissatisfaction felt at work. The occupational groups that predominated gave the club a particular ethos. The women appeared to recognize this fact.

I like the atmosphere and people here, it's part of a self-selected group- outgoing characters only allowed.

Seems no one is refused, but it's really a self-selected social group here. It's not like a cattle market here as at other clubs. I've exercised before-but more fun here-still serious-still work but fun- with people of common interest. It's pleasant to be with single, divorced, independent women. It's an upmarket place but not for body builders or serious competitors.

It may seem that Goffman (1963) was correct when he argued that part of the reason for the increase in membership of clubs was closely linked to the opportunity to mill in fancy environments with successful people. In fact, he stated that some individuals spend more time hanging about and being seen than actually participating in the activity. However, in the health and leisure club we studied, most members did keep themselves active.

From observation it appeared that the women normally spent at least a third of the time exercising and then lounged around afterward. Underlying the "activity third" of their time was the idea of a fitness goal, a commitment fostered by the fitness challenge.

There is a hierarchy of fitness here-the fittest are at the top and the people at the bottom are made to understand that you can climb to the top-help to attain a higher rung.

Achievement of my fitness goal is important to my attendance. I have a fitness goal-to improve my ability to move around. Some of the women see it as an active attempt at equality with the men.

In summary, it may be claimed that the women saw the club as a place to be, and saw the activity as both compensating for the frustration of work and providing a clear achievement ladder. Here success was public and clearly defined.

A Gentlemen's Club for Ladies

The second dimension of the social factor lent more support to its importance as a reason for attending the club:

It's so nice and relaxed here that I very often pop in just for a chat on my way to work. Sometimes I come and don't do anything but chat-it's that sort of place.

A Health and Leisure Club

I like the atmosphere and the people. In fact, I wouldn't enjoy it if there was no social side. The people are very friendly-I come for a social event, have a drink. In the exercises you are not alone, all the other people are suffering around you. I come in most nights of the week. I know everyone at the club and get on well with them. We talk in the coffee bar after training for hours. I always feel like coming-stay all night to talk to people-someone is always there. I wanted a change-to get away from myself-I was shy, I came along, it made me feel better, and it changed my personality. I'm more disciplined now and have no stupid modesty. There is a good strong social side here. I come four times a week for three classes at a time-I was in a rut-needed to expand my outlook. I'm a lot happier for it.

The women's commitment to the club in many cases seems to have taken over their social time. For a few, the club is used as a meeting place where the socially frustrated are made to feel more confident and happy. Very closely related to this is the emotional outlet factor. Members use the club not only for physical fitness but for verbal communication to express their emotions to others. The owners and instructors recognized and acknowledged these social aspects; they made every effort to know all members by name and regarded the social factor as an important part of their task:

I know everyone by name and could tell you quite a lot about their problems. I'm inundated with people wanting to talk things through. I feel the club is an outlet for their emotional state. The women know there's always someone to talk to. They talk in depth with me-not so much with the men. I try to give general advice and to lend a sympathetic ear.

Gym helps everyone-socially we're psychiatrists as much as gym instructors. We have a one-to-one relationship with the women. I'm concerned for all the people in my class-I try to read their faces as they come through the door and assess if they need "hassle"-I mean, do they want to be pushed hard to get something off their mind or are they happy and want a good laugh? It's too easy to accept that people are happy. You have to divide your time to find out if they are. We're professionals here-we realize people can be helped mentally and physically.

The women themselves were more reticent about this emotional outlet aspect than were the staff and instructors who set out to make the club a site for concern, a place where a better "mental-self ' could be created by being able to talk through and confide in people. In Cooper's (1982) study, a quarter of the aerobic participants cited release from depression or anxiety as a major factor. Orbach (1985) states that talking about bodies, diets, fatness, slimness, and what is wrong with the body is an easy topic for conversation. Besides being a topic that almost all women can identify with, it has become a code we use to discuss our inner feelings. Nowhere, claims Orbach (1985), is this illustrated more closely than


in the ambiance of health clubs that have sprung up, and which both feed and then attempt to meet the needs of women's increased preoccupation with their looks.

In summary, it may be claimed that the staff perceived the social factor as a deliberate policy, and the interviewees saw the class as their social scene. While the members themselves were more reticent about the emotional outlet factor, the staff acknowledged that they were confided in on a regular basis. In many ways it was a ladies' club.

Conclusion

The issue foreshadowed in the literature review, the significance of achieving and displaying the ideal outer body image, and the strength of the inner body maintenance justification for this as the rationale behind participant membership of this health and leisure club emerged somewhat substantiated. The women did perceive the club as a place for social interaction where they could legitimately aspire to achieving the image expected of them by the commercially defined media. They were explicit about their commitment to the sometimes obsessive pursuit of the ideal image. To a slightly less significant extent, but nevertheless a substantial one, they acknowledged the importance of combatting inner body deterioration. The fitness ideology had had an impact, but on the basis of these interviews the positive search for the ideal image exceeded the drive to resist the tide of deterioration and aging as a major factor in club affiliation.

There is support for the influence of the media in the way these women perceived their activity. The vested interests of commercial producers have created a market for excessive self-consciousness. The media provide the vehicle through which the image, with its glimmer of truth, is relentlessly sold. The additional legitimation based upon the relationship between fitness and health completes the message: fitness, health, thinness, success, beauty, and longevity. The findings here confirm the success of the media with this particular group of women, who are successful in the working world and who have disposable income to spend. They have adopted the qualities idealized by the media and have taken steps to attain them. These women consider they have the right to display.

The two issues not foreshadowed in the literature that emerged somewhat substantiated were those concerned with milling in a social environment with other successful women and the ladies' club concept. Together they are referred to as the social factor, the second most important reason for attendance. In many ways the women could achieve the image itself and the inner body benefit of exercise in isolation, but this club added a significant group factor for display, associa- tion, and emotional outlet. It was a deliberate club policy to create this ambiance- one of concern and friendliness-and the women acknowledged its significance. As a fitness area, it provided an alternative to the confines of the work place and offered a chance for the women to compare themselves with others in similar occupations. They could assess their achievement, have their progress confirmed by significant peers, in the company of a self-selected, like-minded group. As part of their overall success orientation, these women had the time and money to cultivate their persona. At this club, "like" women gathered together in the pursuit of a commercially determined image and to discuss the day's happenings at work or at home.


The fieldwork exercise is necessarily limited by time. Further research should focus on the media message itself as it is targeted on different groups of women. Here it has been successful in increasing and sustaining participation patterns. Perhaps it could equally be claimed to deter participation in other sports for other age or occupational groups. Research on other leisure activities and sports participation may reveal similar or quite different contours of social change. What may really have emerged is the importance of the media image itself. The commercial world perhaps has a need to create an obsessive demand for surplus products, and it may target its advertising at those who have discretionary income. But the message for those in education may be that the advertisers' success points to a process that could be employed to increase interest in sport and in health and fitness activities for all. What may also have emerged is the need to create an environment in which the ambiance is purposeful but social, a place where particular groups like to mill with peers. The rugby, golf, and working men's club at all levels have for many years provided a scene for men, the gen- tleman's club. There is perhaps much to learn from fieldwork studies that compare traditional men's clubs with these newer, emerging meeting places for women.

The fieldwork technique itself is a practical proposition in the time allowed. The fieldworker has time to sample the experience of club members, to observe, to interview, and to analyze. The interview technique itself is an informal style that allows one to probe interviewees' replies and to check accurate interpreta- tion of what is said. It permits an open approach that not only examines the foreshadowed issues that arise from experience and from the literature but also permits fresh issues to emerge substantiated in the fieldwork process. A further stage would be the analysis of interactions that occur in such clubs, in order to establish the strength of the behavioral dimension of the opinions elicited. This is another com- prehensive exercise that offers some triangulation: some validity from another perspective of the issues that emerge from studies of this kind (see Redican, 1985).

Such additional fieldwork would involve the observation of episodes of interaction that may be analyzed to identify how the ethos and normal procedures of the clubs are daily maintained by members and by employees.

References

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Giddens, A. (1979). Central problems in social theory: Action, structure and contradic- tion in social analysis. London: Macmillan.

Giddens, A. (1982). A reply to my critics. Theory, Culture and Society, 1(2), 107-1 13. Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society. Oxford: Polity Press. Goffman, E. (1963). The presentation of self in everyday life. London: Penguin. Greer, G. (1971). The female eunuch. St. Albans: Paladin.


Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P. (1983). Ethnography: Principles in practice. London: Tavistock.

Legwold, G. (1985). Are we running from the truth about the risks and benefits of exercise? The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 13(5), 136-148.

Merton, R.K., & Kendall, P.L. (1946). The focused interview. American Journal of Sociology, 51, 45 1-547.

Orbach, S. (1985). Fat is a feminist issue. London: Harnlyn. Parker, S. (1983). Leisure and work. London: George Allen & Unwin. Redican, B. (1985). Subject teachers under stress. In G. Walford (Ed.), Schooling in

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