Résumé
The National Women’s Show, held annually in six Canadian cities, is marketed as “the ultimate girl’s day out,” confronting attendees with a multitude of messages about health, wellness, fitness, and beauty. As these concepts are increasingly marketed as inseparable ideals for women, it is essential to critically examine how such narratives are constructed and communicated. This study explored how the National Women’s Show – Montreal constructs cultural narratives about consumerism, womanhood, health, and the role of physical activity within them, and what implications these narratives hold for women’s identities. We conducted a critical, collective, event ethnography in which six researchers attended the first day of the 3-day event and engaged with its activities. Data sources included photographs, product samples, pamphlets, reflexive field notes, website and social media screen captures, and post-event team discussions. An ethnographic content analysis was conducted using a constant comparison method. The narratives observed were strongly rooted in neoliberal feminist ideals equating health with beauty, youthfulness, and weight (loss) and promoting consumerism as a means to achieve normative femininity. We identified three key subject positions: (a) the (dis)empowered woman, where empowerment is achieved through bodily regulation and self-discipline; (b) the naïve woman, who is assumed to want to “be healthy and active” but lacks the knowledge to do so; and (c) the booked and busy woman, who is targeted with quick, efficient (but not joyful) solutions to meet beauty and wellness goals. These findings underscore the need to challenge reductive, gendered health narratives in commercial spaces.
