Latin American bodies matter: a decolonial approach to reimagining the ‘perfect’ body in artistic gymnastics

ABSTRACT This paper advances a decolonial critique of artistic gymnastics by examining how ideals of the ‘perfect’ gymnastic body are historically produced and policed through Eurocentric aesthetic regimes. Focusing on Daiane dos Santos and Rebeca Andrade (Brazil) and Alexa Moreno (Mexico), it argues that Latin American gymnasts expand the sport’s symbolic boundaries by legitimizing Afro-diasporic and Global South cultural repertoires and challenging body-based stereotypes. Using a historical–cultural approach informed by Vygotsky, Freire, Bourdieu and Djamila Ribeiro, the analysis interprets these performances as embodied interventions in disputes over value, legitimacy and voice. The paper contributes to the philosophy of sport and decolonial sport studies by reframing gymnastics aesthetics as a site of epistemic injustice.