Gyozo Molnar

A systematic review of the drive for muscularity research area

The purpose of the current article was to perform a systematic review of 52 studies in which the drive for muscularity (DFM) has been measured. We included all the papers we found published from 2000 until May 2012. Variables most consistently related to DFM are (1) gender, with males reporting higher levels than females; (2) anxiety and body shame; (3) perceptions that the ideal physique involves high muscularity; (4) behaviours associated with increasing muscularity, including dietary manipulation and resistance training; and (5) the internalisation of a muscular physique as the standard to which to aspire. The DFM was inconsistently correlated with self-esteem, physical characteristics and actual-ideal discrepancies. Research has focused on white male students and been cross-sectional and descriptive. Further theory-driven work is needed with a wider range of populations to enhance the conceptualisation, measurement and understanding of the DFM.

Pride of the People: Fijian Rugby Labour Migration and Collective Identity

Rugby is a sport that has given Fiji international recognition. The professionalisation of rugby has led to a growing number of elite players emigrating from Fiji – often temporarily but sometimes permanently – to metropolitan countries, with an estimated 450 athletes currently involved in foreign competitions. Whilst Fijians have a long history of migration to metropolitan societies, the recent global dispersion of rugby players has added new dimensions and complexities. This article intends to shed light upon this migratory phenomenon by exploring what it means for these Fijians to ply their trade in foreign leagues. Based on semi-structured interviews, the article examines the experiences of Fijian players who are currently or have previously been contracted by metropolitan rugby clubs and what these experiences mean to them regarding their sense of collective identity and pride, especially in the context of politico-economic disparities between Fiji and the host countries. In doing so, particular attention is paid to the voices and agency of those athletes who claim rugby migration as a space for counter-hegemonic collective self-expression. The article thus seeks to contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of the relationship between sports labour migration and collective local identification and resistance in an increasingly globalised world.

Hungarian footballers on the move: Issues of and observations on the first migratory phase

In this essay we seek to approach football migration-related issues from a qualitative angle and examine specific, personal layers of those via the lived experiences of Hungarian migrant footballers. That is, we shall shed light on some of the numerous personal and occupational struggles, difficulties and uncertainties Hungarian professional footballers encountered at varied stages of their footballing transfer after the collapse of communism. Hence, one of our aims is to draw wider attention to motivational forces, in the form of push and pull factors that can either facilitate or hinder migratory processes and, at a later stage, impact on migratory experiences. We will then consider the selection of potential host countries and the degree of control Hungarian professional footballers exercise over choosing their countries of destination. Finally, we examine issues related to the clarity of contract negotiations prior to and during the migratory experience. Our analysis is sociologically-driven and embedded in empirical, qualitative evidence gathered by semi-structured interviews with migrant Hungarian professional footballers.

Interpreting and exploring football fan rivalries: an overview

Academic literature on football fans has shifted focus, away from the study of ‘exceptional fans’, most notably hooligans, towards ‘everyday fans’ and their experiences. Especially, the rivalry-related aspect of football fandom has been given growing attention. Gradually increasing literature has demonstrated that rivalries are unique and complex, underpinned by social, historical and/or cultural factors. This suggests that each rivalry must be studied in-depth in order to understand the underlying factors that shape oppositions and social identities. Although attempts have been made to sociologically explore rivalries in such a way, two fundamental issues have not been fully addressed: paucity of in-depth empirical evidence and lack of transparency in terms of research methodologies. Therefore, this essay, after locating football rivalries within the broader genre of fandom, proposes to use ethnographic research methodologies to elicit rich, qualitative data, thus providing empirically grounded interpretations of fans’ perceptions. Also, it calls for more open and detailed methodological and theoretical discussions which would aid our understanding of the unique and complex factors underpinning football fan rivalries.

Involuntary career termination in sport: a case study of the process of structurally induced failure

Sport can be perceived as one of the contemporary key socializing agencies with which a significant number of children and youth come in to contact. The nature of this contact between the institution of sport and the individual is erratic, leading to the, often abrupt and unforeseen, termination of the individuals sporting career. In this essay, our aim is to draw wider attention to the personal adjustments young athletes undergo during and after their career has been institutionally terminated. Our analysis is embedded in theory as well as empirical, qualitative evidence gathered through semi-structured, long interviews with eight ex-varsity athletes. In shedding light on the personal consequences of structurally induced failure in sport, we seek to approach these issues from a socio-psychological angle and examine specific, personal layers of those via the lived experiences of ‘drop-out’ varsity athletes.1

Mapping migrations: Hungary related migrations of professional footballers after the collapse of communism.

This essay seeks to explore and understand football‐related post‐communist migration patterns in Hungary, and to place these local migratory sequences into global/regional migratory processes, which are, in turn, induced and facilitated by global/regional conditions. The aim is to explicate these patterns in relation to intermingled economic, political, social and cultural factors, based on a quantitative data set, covering 12 years of Hungary’s post‐communist transition. This data set represents the emigration of professional Hungarian footballers to the professional leagues of UEFA countries and the immigration of foreign footballers to the Hungarian professional football league, centring on migration pipelines between chief donor and host countries and Hungary.[1]

Problematizing the dominant: the emergence of alternative cultural voices in Fiji rugby

Todays indigenous Fijian culture is often said to be represented by ratuism, religion and rugby. Rugby is widely described as Fijis ‘national’ sport, with a considerable degree of social significance. That rugby is listed alongside two powerful institutions (ratuism and religion) in the life of indigenous Fijians is a clear indication of the central cultural importance of the sport. In this paper, drawing upon the existing literature as well as our own research data, we outline the key aspects of the dominant rugby discourse in relation to ratuism and religion, along with exploring some of rugbys main alternative cultural ‘functions’. Employing a cultural studies approach, our main goal is to interpret and (re)present some of the chief alternative discourses in Fiji rugby and to discuss their role in the formation of dominant and emergent cultural practices.

Collective identity and contested allegiance: a case of migrant professional Fijian rugby players

Rugby is widely regarded as Fijis ‘national’ sport and Fijian athletes are a prominent global presence in professional rugby today. Despite such prominence of Fijian athletes in professional rugby and the social, economic and symbolic significance of the sport in Fiji, there is a near absence of academic research on Fijian rugby migration. As Fiji has been deeply implicated in the interests and discourses of colonialism, ethno-nationalism and masculinity, the aim of this study is to explore professional rugby migration and international competitions as a context for collective identification by focusing on the interview-generated voices of rugby migrants as well as popular media discourses. In doing so, we aim to provide an insight into the multiple dimensions of sport labour migration from the point of view of a developing society that supplies sport labour across the globe. Our analysis will highlight the complex and contested nature of rugby migration as it is experienced and viewed by emigrant players and the Fiji public with a specific focus on the tension between core and periphery dimensions which surfaces at times of international competition such as the Rugby World Cup.

Perceived social pressures and the internalization of the mesomorphic ideal: The role of drive for muscularity and autonomy in physically active men

We examined if there were both direct and indirect relationships (via the drive for muscularity) between the perceived pressure to be muscular and internalization of the mesomorphic ideal, and if autonomy moderates these relationships in physically active men. A sample of 330 men, who were undergraduate students studying sport, completed the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2, the Mesomorphic Ideal Internalization subscale of the revised male version Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire, the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale-Modified, and the Drive for Muscularity Scale Attitudes subscale. Perceived pressure predicted internalization directly, and indirectly through the drive for muscularity. The direct relationship between pressure and internalization was weaker under higher levels of autonomy. The indirect path, via drive for muscularity, was stronger under higher levels of autonomy. These results provide insights into why men vary in the degree to which they internalize pressure to develop a mesomorphic ideal, supporting further examination of autonomy.

Playing on the global periphery: Social scientific explorations of rugby in the Pacific Islands

In this prologue, we will briefly revisit some of the main research findings that have emerged from our collaborative work on Fiji rugby, as well as reflecting on some of the recommendations derived from our empirical investigation. We discuss issues in relation to national identity and migrations, post-rugby career-related retirement issues and alternative emerging cultural practices that challenge the dominant discourse around Fiji rugby. We then turn our attention to the content of this special issue and briefly introduce the articles included, with the main recommendation that there is a growing need to explore absent and emerging voices and cultural practices in regard to sport-related migration in, from and to the Pacific Islands.