Ocean Swimmers and the Body Image Gap: A Study of Sydney, Australia, and Jeju, South Korea

For anyone who has developed a taste for ocean swimming in groups, the health and mental health benefits are obvious – camaraderie, physical exertion without the stress of weight-bearing, connections with the natural world, and the therapeutic value of ‘blue space’ not only above one’s head, but all around. A small literature supports these intuitive findings (Gould, McLachlan et al. 2021, Olive and Wheaton 2021, Moles and Bates 2023, Olive 2023, Butler-Eldridge 2024, Olive 2024, Wright, Eden et al. 2024). Like other sports, ocean swimmers have a ‘uniform’ of sorts – a swim cap, googles that (temporarily) imprint on the skin, and either a tight wetsuit or a bathing suit. None of these elements may be considered particularly flattering. Yet the literature is silent on any issues associated with body image. Is this because ocean swimmers (who are a breed of all shapes and sizes) are a self-selected group that reject hegemonic views of what a body ‘should’ resemble? Is it because the power in the act of swimming trumps the disempowerment present in the act of (partially) disrobing? This paper analyses the images projected by two sets of ocean swimmers – the haenyeo (female divers) of Jeju in South Korea and the ‘salty’ ocean swimmers of Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Semiotic analysis is conducted on films, literature and videos that represent these two groups to determine where, if at all, body image is obscured, elevated, or outright rejected.