Rethinking the ‘Fit’ in Fitness: Misfitting (Loudly) to Transform Physical Activity Futures

The fitness industry has long glorified an “ideal body.” Anyone not “fitting” this ideal is cast as non-normative, and likely excluded, discriminated against, and pressured to conform to mythical standards. Using the feminist materialist concept of misfitting in our narrative thematic analysis, we thought through 22 participants’ stories of in/exclusion in the world of physical activity and fitness. Participants recognized being a misfit (noun) in juxtaposition to the white-able masculine standard. They also discussed how the norm is enforced, including stories of punitive exercise, fear of judgment, and performative worth(iness). Choreographing misfitting shares participants’ responses to being a misfit, via choreographing invisibility (by avoidance or seeking to mask/pass) and choreographing visibility (to expose unrealistic standards of normativity by misfitting (verb) loudly). We argue that misfits must always be centered and celebrated for teaching us how physical activity and fitness can and should be inclusive for all.