SURVEILLANCE, SUBJECTIVISM AND TECHNOLOGIES OF POWER

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to use a Foucauldian framework to explore the concept of disciplinary power and its relationship to sport. This article focuses on the dietary intake of athletes to show how this aspect of the discursive practice was shaped by the technology of power as a means of domination and the technology of the self as a means of transformation. Qualitative data collection for the research was conducted at several high-performance training centres located in urban areas where 17 athletes from four sports were interviewed. Foucauldian concepts such as surveillance and technologies of the self were employed to examine the power structure that shaped the discursive practice of athletes. A deconstructive strategy was then employed to examine the normalized compliance of the athletes and challenge validity of the discourse of expertise in which coaches engaged. We concluded that athletes are willing to settle for a power structure as long as they can find reasons to accept and internalize explanations that justify such an arrangement.