The Role of the Body and Body Ideals in the Production and Consumption of Spa Experiences

The aim of this article is to present some insights into the spa phenomenon and explore how spa managers/therapists and customers link the body and body ideals in various ways to the production and consumption of spa experiences. The article presents an analysis based on qualitative interviews conducted with spa managers/therapists and customers, and reveals several subtexts and contradictions regarding bodies in spas, indicating complex attitudes and expectations. Both customers' and therapists' bodies participate in the production of experiences, but in different ways and according to different ideals. The main findings of this study relate to the uneven relationship between therapist and customer; how a feeling of in-placeness in a spa can be achieved; and that health and medicine still play a part in the spa industry, although a different one from before.