Hearts and Muscles: Emotional Communities and Physical Culture Magazines in 1900s Ireland

Abstract

In 1898, the Prussian physical culturist Eugen Sandow officially launched his magazine of physical culture. A pastime more akin to bodybuilding than sport, physical culture rose to prominence in the closing decades of the nineteenth century, primarily amongst interested males. Through an examination of submissions and contributions to Sandow's magazine, the present article seeks to contribute to the current historiography concerning masculinity in Ireland. Utilising Rosenwein's theory of emotional communities, that is to say groups in which certain emotions are valued higher than others, the goal of the article is twofold. In the first instance, the article highlights Irishmen's engagement and interest in physical culture with reference to broader ideas about desirable male forms. Once established, the article uses pictorial and written submissions by Irishmen to explore the emotional discourses expressed by men in Sandow's magazine, namely feelings of pride, shame and anxiety. In doing so, the article sheds light on a previously unexplored area of Irish masculinity during this period, and points towards the importance that emotional discourses have in the creation of masculinities more generally.