Body Work

Julia Coffey is a lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Newcastle, Australia.

"Accessible, lively and timely, this book makes bodies visible in youth sociology. Coffey’s analysis of body work by young people draws effortlessly on the insights of Deleuze, Guattari and Spinoza to disrupt accepted understandings of youth. Using vivid examples, she shows how young people engaging in body work both produce and resist gendered inequalities and health risks. Coffey issues a challenge to ‘embody’ youth studies – and the broader field of sociology. Reading this book is a must."—Professor Johanna Wyn, Director, Youth Research Centre, the University of Melbourne"Julia Coffey’s materialist approach places the body and its capacities at the forefront of analysis in youth studies research. It documents the body work of contemporary young people, ranging from cosmetic surgery and fitness classes to sexting, football and tattoos. A must-read book for youth work students and professionals alike!"—Nick J. Fox, Professor of Sociology, University of Sheffield"In this truly innovative and ground breaking contribution to the study of embodied experience Coffey invites us to rethink the role of the body in the study of youth. Drawing upon advancements in new materialist thought, a framework for understanding the body as a set of dynamic, relational processes and affective engagements is offered as a corrective to established approaches which cast the young body as a site where risk and social problems are managed. Throughout the analysis this reorientation makes way for more complex, contradictory and open ended explorations of the interconnections between bodies, gender, health and youth. This non-reductive reading of body work practices sets the tone for new research agendas and will surely inspire further theoretical and methodological advances in the study of embodied experience across a wide a variety social contexts."—Shelley Budgeon, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Birmingham

• 1. Introduction to Youth Sociology and the Body 2. Theorising the Body 3. Researching the Body 4. Assembling Gender: Body Work, Identities and the Body 5: Health, Affect and Embodiment 6. Buff Culture, Cosmetic Surgery and Bodily Limits 7. Conclusion: Embodying Youth Studies