Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity, and the Limits of Sport
Abstract
In contemporary North America, figure skating ranks among the most ‘feminine’ of sports and few boys take it up for fear of being labelled effeminate or gay. Yet figure skating was once an exclusively male pastime - women did not skate in significant numbers until the late 1800s, at least a century after the founding of the first skating club. Only in the 1930s did figure skating begin to acquire its feminine image. Artistic Impressions is the first history to trace figure skating's striking transformation from gentlemen's art to ‘girls’ sport.’ With a focus on masculinity, Mary Louise Adams examines how skating's evolving gender identity has been reflected on the ice and in the media, looking at rules, technique, and style and at ongoing debates about the place of ‘art’ in sport. Uncovering the little known history of skating, Artistic Impressions shows how ideas about sport, gender, and sexuality have combined to limit the forms of physical expression available to men.
... Academic research demonstrates how performances of heterosexuality and conventional gender roles are deeply entrenched in ballroom dancing and figure skating. Scholars note how the movements, music, clothing, and choreography combine to depict romanticized, eroticized, and idealized images of heterosexual courtship and seduction (Adams, 2011;McMains, 2006). The lead-follow dynamic of couple dancing has also received substantial critical attention, with male and female dancers expected to take up traditional, rigid, and mutually exclusive gender roles, regardless of their sexuality (Marion, 2008). ...
... As the 'follower', female dancers must respond attentively to male dancers' lead (Harman, 2019;McMains, 2006), often extending the presentation of the movement and overall spectacle through eye-catching dresses and make-up, thus performing hyper-femininity (Marion, 2008;McMains, 2006). With the material and symbolic representation of conventional, pre-feminist gender dynamics, numerous scholars argue that figure skating and ballroom dancing are sites for the reproduction of hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and unequal gender relations (Adams, 2011;McMains, 2006;Meneau, 2020;Peters, 1992). Hegemonic masculinity is conceptualised as a pattern of practice that legitimates and reproduces unequal gender relations between men and women, and masculinity and femininity (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). ...
... This pattern of hegemony is arguably evident in figure skating and ballroom dancing, where unequal gender relations are not only consented to, but actively idealized and choreographed. As such, Adams (2011) argues the polarised gender performances in figure skating reinforce assumptions about natural sex difference and severely limits the embodied expression of skaters. Peters (1992:171) attests "however beautiful, ballroom dance glorifies man and vanquishes woman". ...
Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice are primetime reality television shows that promote partner dancing as a form of leisure in the UK. Both shows have consistently represented partner dancing as a partnership between a man and a woman. However, in 2019 and 2020male/male partnerships were introduced into both shows for the first time. Drawing on media reports that discuss these male/male partnerships, this paper explores how the partnerships were represented and made sense of by mainstream and LGBT + media. Employing thematic discourse analysis, we demonstrate how the male/male dance partnerships were framed by a complex and contradictory inclusive masculinity discourse. On the one hand, this discourse celebrated the male/male couples as evidence that Britain is a progressive society in which homophobia is in decline. At the same time, the representations largely centred on the male dance couples’ bromances while ignoring or silencing discourses of gay love or sex. We show that although the representations can be viewed as a positive step forward, there were also some limitations to the representations which necessitate more critical examination in future research
... 260) Ice dance is documented to have originated in Vienna, Austria, in 1865 (Hines, 2006), but of course, earlier communities throughout the world with rich traditions of ice sport and play likely danced too. The ice dance of Vienna was influenced by British and French culture; by the early 1900s, ice dance was primarily a White European aristocratic social and leisure activity (Adams, 2011). ...
... Using Bourdieu, it can be said that figure skating habitus demarcated the activity in several ways: figure skating habitus distinguished upper from the lower class such as by restricting access to skating ponds through rules and norms regarding proper attire (Adams, 2011) and through rules that were created pertaining to appropriate ways of moving the body physically. The "aesthetic" "one dimension" quoted of Bourdieu previously is typified in the early and continued dominance of Eurocentric music in ice dance and in the rules and policies constructed in large part by ice dance's governing institution, the ISU-which became the international ice skating governing body in 1941 (Skate Canada, n.d.)-and affiliated members. ...
... 3. Historically, when male figure skaters participate (with the exception of very few), they most often participate as singles' competitors, performing in a specifically heterosexually masculine way (Adams, 2011), with emphasis on bold, large movements including multirotation jumps (e.g., quadruple toe-loop, triple axel, and others). In contrast, ice dancing does not allow multirotation jumps, focusing explicitly on choreographed dance timed perfectly to the selected music. ...
This cultural-interpretive essay offers critical commentary on Koreanness, racial ideology, hegemonic racial power, and racialized cultural taste with the aim of interpreting the sport–music nexus by examining a case of the interface between music and sport: The authors focus on the case of the Olympic ice dance that the South Korean team performed for the Korean traditional folk song Arirang at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. The authors argue that music and sport can be understood as a semiological system that shapes non-Whites’ ideological belief system. In addition, this essay engages with a discussion of cultural classification that often racializes skaters of color as the aforementioned are informed by Orientalism.
... Like figure skating, generally, synchronized skating has embedded and problematic understandings of gender and sexuality (Adams, 2011). Female skaters, and therefore the majority of synchronized skating teams, are expected to display hyperfeminine programs, costuming, and aesthetics that demonstrate and perpetuate white upperclass European ideals of heterosexual feminine grace and beauty. ...
... In having the same costume as his female teammates, Mason felt like there was not a clear enough distinction between them. As previously noted, figure skating is typically regarded as a 'feminine' sport; however, the traditional gender binary is still visually reiterated through gendered costume differences (Adams, 2011). The pants worn by male skaters are in stark contrast with the skirts and dresses worn by their female counterparts (Adams, 2011). ...
... As previously noted, figure skating is typically regarded as a 'feminine' sport; however, the traditional gender binary is still visually reiterated through gendered costume differences (Adams, 2011). The pants worn by male skaters are in stark contrast with the skirts and dresses worn by their female counterparts (Adams, 2011). Without the contrast in costumes, Mason felt like he was being feminized. ...
The inclusion of transgender athletes in sport challenges a number of long-standing cis-heteronormative beliefs within athletics at all levels of competition. There are limited studies examining the integration and experiences of transgender athletes within amateur sport. The following case study follows the experiences of a transgender synchronized figure skater, Mason, who was able to continue competing throughout his transition process. We conducted eight semi-structured one-on-one interviews with Mason, his teammates, his team manager, and his past and present coaches. All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and subject to thematic analysis which resulted in four overarching themes: (a) building inclusivity: “promote a safe space,” (b) acknowledging stress, (c) disclosure: “I didn’t want to talk about my past,” and (d) celebration. Results are interpreted as recommendations for coaches on how to adopt inclusive practices to better support transgender athletes.
... As a result, men's participation is stigmatized in much the same way it is for men in cheerleading (Grindstaff and West 2006), dance (Craig 2014), or figure skating (Adams 2011). In other words, it creates for participants "an attribute that is deeply discrediting" (Goffman 1963, 3), and, therefore, male twirlers today must use certain techniques of resistance and justification to justify their presence in a space that is now a feminized sport rather than in a masculine, "tough" "blood sport" (Drummond 2016) like football or basketball. ...
... Men in sports like figure skating (e.g., Adams 2011), cheer (e.g., Grindstaff and West 2006), and dance (e.g., Haltom and Worthen 2014) emphasize the masculine components of certain movements, tricks, or other technical aspects to make them more "macho" (Fisher 2007). By highlighting the athleticism of higher jumps or leaps, pushing for more spins, and showcasing feats of strength, men in these second string, fringe, or marginal sports can better justify their involvement (Adams 2011;Craig 2014;Grindstaff and West 2006;Haltom and Worthen 2014). When dance is performed solo or for the sake of artistry (as is the case with twirling), however, men run the risk of feminization (Craig 2014). ...
... When dance is performed solo or for the sake of artistry (as is the case with twirling), however, men run the risk of feminization (Craig 2014). To avoid this process, male figure skaters use manly movements like hip thrusts, snapping their fingers, or putting their hands into fists (Adams 2011). Men in these feminized sports appropriate recognized forms of masculine embodiment (strength, toughness, aggressiveness, etc.) in attempt to distract from a soft label (Bordo 1999;Drummond 2016). ...
There is a persistent perception that baton twirling is only for girls. This insight is not unwarranted because more often than not, audiences only see girls twirling. Baton twirling, however, is not exclusive to girls; boys twirl too. In this chapter, I explore how the participation of men and boys in the sport of baton twirling exemplifies forms of embodied resistance. In defiance of more masculine and male-dominated sports, men and boys who twirl exhibit embodied resistance in three key ways: through their participation in this feminized sport, by redefining components of twirling to downplay gender, and through choreography involving contentious body movements. Through their participation in a sport in which they are the minority, men and boys’ presence in twirling works against more traditional notions of what sports they “should” play. Within competitive twirling, male twirlers reduce certain body movements in an attempt to “undo” their feminine nature (Deutsch 2007).1 Finally, there is resistance in the ways the free hand (the hand not twirling a baton) is used, with twirlers rejecting judges’ and coaches’ suggestions to form a fist, a gesture associated with masculinity and power. The twirlers instead prefer to use the free hand for personal expression. Within these forms of embodied resistance, tension is ever present and surfaces in questions such as “What is too feminine?” “When is masculinity conformity?” and, “Can gender in twirling be ‘undone’?”
... This article attempts to investigate how this phenomenon was told, described, and represented by some in the US through an examination of the media narratives of Asian and Asian American female figure skaters. Although figure skating has been researched by psychologists, exercise scientists and nutritionists, Adams (2011) noted that there has been little research from researchers in the humanities and social sciences. As Asian skaters became more visible and demonstrated their dominance, many in the American media struggled in discussing this shift in power. ...
... The central core to the perception of the Yellow female skater as a perilous being of the Asian invasion lies in the idea of jumping as a threat. It was in the late 1980s and early 1990s that this began to be regarded as a symbol of athleticism (one that often-connoted masculinity) that was in unfavourable contrast with artistry (Adams 2011;Feder 1994;Kestnbaum 2003;Fabos 2001). Adams (2011) argued that figure skating is the quintessential 'girls' sport, thus any participants that shift the perception of the sport towards an athletic/masculine view would clash with traditional norms associated with the sport. ...
... It was in the late 1980s and early 1990s that this began to be regarded as a symbol of athleticism (one that often-connoted masculinity) that was in unfavourable contrast with artistry (Adams 2011;Feder 1994;Kestnbaum 2003;Fabos 2001). Adams (2011) argued that figure skating is the quintessential 'girls' sport, thus any participants that shift the perception of the sport towards an athletic/masculine view would clash with traditional norms associated with the sport. At that time, many in the print media often employed the metaphor of threat in representing a group of athletic skaters such as Midori Ito, Tonya Harding and Surya Bonaly, describing them as, 'more muscular and broad-shouldered than girlishly slim or womanishly curvaceous' (Kestnbaum 2003, 151). ...
This article examines how some in the American media covered the emergence of Asian and Asian American athletes in the historically White-dominated sport of figure skating. Utilizing McDonald and Birrell’s Reading Sport Critically approach, we analyzed a variety of major national newspapers, news magazines, sports magazines and periodicals to determine what narratives and beliefs were conveyed to explain the successes of Asian and Asian/American skaters, and the subsequent decline of American skaters. Our results show that some American media members struggled in describing this phenomenon, in that they utilized an essentialist racial lens and viewed the sport as a White space that was experiencing an ‘Asian Invasion’. The findings of this paper add to the race and gender discrimination in sport literature by describing the process that a historically dominant power group (Whites) employed as Asian and Asian American figure skaters started to dominate their White space.
... The gender binary and traditional body ideals have been strongly upheld in contemporary figure skating; female skaters are rewarded for qualities such as grace, beauty, and weightlessness, while male skaters are applauded for demonstrations of strength, power, and force (Adams, 2011). Lee (1994) contended the "body is a text of culture; it is a symbolic form upon which the norms and practices of a society are inscribed" (pp. ...
... In its earliest iteration, figure skating was an art form pursued by men for intrinsic reasons versus competition; the demonstration of athletic skills that increased the risk of falling, was thought to interfere with the grace of figure skating (Adams, 2011). Despite its origins as an expressive form of masculinity in 18th century England (Adams, 2007), male skaters are seldom viewed as manly in contemporary figure skating. ...
... Anxieties over perceptions of effeminacy have shaped media constructions of exaggerated masculinity and informed rules designed to protect masculine portrayals of male skaters. Masculinizing male skaters helps figure skating be seen as a true sport and male figure skaters be perceived as athletes, versus artists, to promote viewership and credibility among fans who expect exhibitions of male strength and power, as in American football (Adams, 2011). Male skaters have thus been encouraged to prove their masculinity by vetting behavior, movement, costume, music, and appearance for symbols of effeminacy. ...
Figure skaters experience pressure associated with their sport to change their body weight, shape, or size to meet appearance and performance expectations. Figure skaters may experience different body-related expectations based on gender despite operating in identical or similar training and competition environments. In a qualitative investigation that examined body pressure experiences of male skaters, participants discussed some of their struggles (Voelker & Reel, 2018), but seemed compelled to discuss, unexpectedly, the plight of female skaters in facing the skating body ideal. The present findings represent an exploratory analysis of qualitative data elucidating the body pressure experiences of female skaters through the eyes of male skaters. Participants were 13 competitive male figure skaters ages 16-24 ( M = 18.53). Analyzed using a social constructivist and critical perspective, the results demonstrated the salience of body pressures for female skaters and afforded insight into sociocultural and historical factors that influence how male and female skaters experience their bodies differently in a skating context. Male skaters reported they faced less extreme body pressures, had certain physical advantages, and tended to be more confident than female skaters, which underscored a gendered body pressure experience. This work explores the intersections of gender and power within figure skating and examines body image concerns and unhealthy eating and exercise behaviors as a larger social justice issue that serves to encourage similar investigations in other sports.
... Controversy surrounding these and other events is not altogether new. Academic literature on Canadian ice hockey shows that it has long been accused of promulgating masculine character traits to the extent that they become problematic (Robidoux, 2001(Robidoux, , 2002Adams, 2006Adams, , 2011Allain, 2008Allain, , 2010Allain, , 2012Gee, 2009;Atkinson, 2010). Since hockey is so deeply engrained in Canadian culture, it is often a primary site for the socialization of young males. ...
... Helen Lenskyj of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education writes, "despite more accepting societal attitudes and practices in most western countries, sport remains one of the last bastions of heterosexism and homophobia" (2012, p. 8). Eitzen (2012) and Adams (2011) contend that young boys are so strongly encouraged to exhibit traditionally masculine traits associated with sport such as toughness and heterosexuality that boys often become afraid of femininity and homosexuality. These comments indicate that homophobia-or perhaps more specifically antigay sentiment-is a common tenet of hegemonic masculinity and is currently under scrutiny. ...
... With regards to homophobia and ice hockey, several scholars offer hockey as an example of a site that reproduces homophobic and hypermasculine characteristics (Anderson, 2010;Atkinson, 2010;Adams, 2011;Eitzen, 2012;Rand, 2012), but the specific intersection of homophobia and ice hockey is largely absent from recent scholarly literature when compared to media accounts of the two (Johnston, 2011;Bella, 2012;Shoalts, 2012;The Canadian Press, 2012;Burke, 2013). This disparity is a useful entry point for the other gaps in the literature as it presents an opportunity to reopen the topic of hegemonic masculinity in ice hockey, update studies of hazing, violence, drug addiction, and suicide, and advance the broader intellectual conversation on the status of homophobia in ice hockey. ...
Ice hockey is particularly significant in Canada as it acts as a primary site of socialization for boys and men. This form of socialization raises questions about masculinity on the public agenda in terms of the problematic nature of hypermasculinity in sport, stereotypical images of athletes, and questions of social responsibility as both men and athletes. These issues are presently relevant as Canada (and perhaps all of North America) finds itself in an era characterized by accounts in mainstream media of competitive athletes’ cavalier lifestyles, hazing, violence, homophobia, drug addictions, and suicides. This review of literature uses secondary research to problematize masculinity in the ice hockey context by presenting the overarching claim that male hockey players are hegemonically masculine individuals. The piece begins by defining Australian sociologist R.W. Connell’s (1987) concept of hegemonic masculinity and situating it in the contemporary academic context. Next, it offers an overview of relevant literature on masculinity and sport along with a concise examination of scholarly work on the relationship between hegemonic masculinity and ice hockey in Canada. It concludes by summarising calls for further research in the literature and by suggesting approaches to future studies in the field.
... Then, focusing on modern skating and analyzing performances of well-known skaters, Kestnbaum (2003) described how meaning is created on the ice. Most recently, Adams (2011) explained how skating went from being a pastime for upper-class men to being a sport for young girls. Though these books do not explicitly discuss it-only Hampe (1994, pp. ...
... It is still important for figure skaters to appear as ladies and gentlemen, even when they lack upper-class backgrounds. The origin story supports the image of figure skating as a sport for upper-class people of European descent, as discussed by Kestnbaum (2003), and underlies figure skating's shift from a pastime for adult men to a sport for young girls following shifting notions of masculinity, as described by Adams (2011). Telling the truth-that the first ice skaters were probably children playing with bones in central Europe and the Eurasian steppes-does not have the same impact. ...
Figure skating’s origin story relates the sport to Norse mythology, but this claim does not stand up to a careful analysis. Its roots can be traced to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century antiquaries interested in the old north. The popularity of skating and early scholars' imperfect understanding of Old Norse led to skating appearing in translations and adaptations of medieval Scandinavian literature despite being absent from the original. The origin story's development can be traced through manuals and popular histories of figure skating from the eighteenth century to the present. This paper exposes figure skating's origin story as the invention of a privileged class to elevate a popular leisure activity and explains its enduring function in supporting the upper-class image of figure skating.
... Haltom & Worthen men and their performances of masculinity within feminized sports. Such studies typically examine male cheerleaders (e.g., Anderson, 2005 Anderson, , 2008 Davis, 1990; Grindstaff & West, 2006; Hanson, 1995), men in rhythmic gymnastics (Chimot & Louveau, 2010), and men who figure skate (Adams, 1993Adams, , 2011 Kestnbaum, 2003). Other work specifically investigating male dancers utilizes data from working professional dancers (e.g., Mennesson, 2009) who have arguably spent a great deal of time reflecting about their masculine identities; thus it is unclear how male ballet dancers' experiences in emerging adulthood contribute to their conceptualizations of heterosexual masculinity (herein heteromasculinity). ...
... Men in cheerleading, rhythmic gymnastics, and figure skating have also been examined in previous studies (e.g., Adams, 1993 Adams, , 2011 Anderson, 2005 Anderson, , 2008 Chimot & Louveau, 2010). Often, researchers examine how these men, who are participating in highly feminized arenas, negotiate their performances of heteromasculinity. ...
Although previous research has investigated men in feminized sports, we took a different approach in this study and examined men in ballet. Because ballet is one of the most highly gender-codified sports, male ballet dancers must negotiate their identities as men while performing a dance form that is highly stigmatized as effeminate. We investigated how five self-identified heterosexual male college dance majors perceive and perform heteromasculinity within male ballet culture using qualitative data gathered from structured interviews. Results provide three unique contributions to the literature. First, we found that these men develop and contextualize their heteromasculinity in the context of a male ballet culture. Second, the results demonstrate three unique stigma-management techniques within male ballet culture. Third, men described a hegemonic heteromasculinity and the roles of masculinity and emotionality in male ballet performance as parts of male ballet culture. We hope this study will stimulate future research that can help personnel and faculty to better understand how college ballet programs can be informed by the ways masculinity may be institutionalized and reproduced within the context of dance programs, as well as the ways male ballet dancers can challenge heteromasculine hegemony in the sports world.
... Controversy surrounding these and other events is not altogether new. Academic literature on Canadian ice hockey shows that it has long been accused of promulgating masculine character traits to the extent that they become problematic (Robidoux, 2001(Robidoux, , 2002Adams, 2006Adams, , 2011Allain, 2008Allain, , 2010Allain, , 2012Gee, 2009;Atkinson, 2010). Since hockey is so deeply engrained in Canadian culture, it is often a primary site for the socialization of young males. ...
... With regards to homophobia and ice hockey, several scholars offer hockey as an example of a site that reproduces homophobic and hypermasculine characteristics (Anderson, 2010;Atkinson, 2010;Adams, 2011;Eitzen, 2012;Rand, 2012), but the specific intersection of homophobia and ice hockey is largely absent from recent scholarly literature when compared to media accounts of the two (Johnston, 2011;Bella, 2012;Shoalts, 2012;The Canadian Press, 2012;Burke, 2013). This disparity is a useful entry point for the other gaps in the literature as it presents an opportunity to reopen the topic of hegemonic masculinity in ice hockey, update studies of hazing, violence, drug addiction, and suicide, and advance the broader intellectual conversation on the status of homophobia in ice hockey. ...
... Organised team sport provides an avenue for displays of patriarchal structure, physical prowess, and heterosexual domination (Adams, 2011;Hargreaves, 1986;Murray & White, 2017;Pronger, 1990;Pringle, 2005). As a result, many note how it provides a vehicle that reinforces an orthodox or hegemonic form of 20th century masculinity . ...
Rugby union, alongside other collision and contact sports, faces ever mounting pressure from increased recognition of concussive injuries and the risks they present to athletes, both in the short-term and long-term. Here, the media is a central component of increasing pressure for cultural change. This research analysed data from 524 self-selected survey respondents to examine rugby union fans' and stakeholders’ perceptions of media portrayal of concussion and how it might influence their own perceptions. We found evidence of a complex and heterogenous relationship between perceptions of masculinity, views and attitudes toward mass media, and degree of involvement in rugby union. Specifically, partisans of the sport generally saw mass media as hostile, with coverage biased against rugby, allowing them to manufacture doubt regarding risk information, as well as maintaining involvement in the sport. We conclude that critical commentaries from the media have the ability to challenge masculinities around concussion.
... Overall, we see a problem in figure skating in finding a sufficient number of boys who could be part of pair skating. Adams (2011) deals with this issue, where a smaller number of boys attribute it to finger pointing for homosexuals. Also, an article by Georgiou et al. (2018) deals with the perception of homosexuals and their nonparticipation in sports activities in terms of revealing their sexual orientation. ...
The article deals with the figure skating course of two countries that were a common state 30 years ago and operated based on one union with one management. Due to the political events in 1992, the country was divided and the centralized management of figure skating also had to disintegrate. From one union, which was run from Prague became two unions, operating independently of each other. Figure skating in Slovakia suffered from the first moment, mainly due to leaving the management of figure skating to the original association in Prague. Many sports experts and officials continued their activities for the Czech Republic. Despite the re-emerging association, the Slovak Republic strives for the best possible conditions not only for athletes but also for sports professionals. The study deals with the search for innovations and assistance to the Slovak Republic to find and eliminate shortcomings. Key words: figure skating, Slovak Republic, SWOT analyses
... Research on the culture of hockey has found the sport in general, whether professional or recreational, and hockey rinks in particular, to be highly-charged sites of racism, sexism, homophobia, and hegemonic masculinity (Allain, 2008;MacDonald, 2018;Robidoux, 2012;Robinson, 1998;Runstedtler, 2016;Theberge, 1998). Beyond hockey, ice skating has also received dedicated focus in existing literature, particularly figure skaters' personal aesthetic and embodied experiences (Adams, 2011;Maivorsdotter & Wickman, 2011). Researchers have also positioned ice skating as serious leisure (McQuarrie & Jackson, 1996;Stebbins, 2007). ...
Everyday life in urban public space means living amongst people unknown to one another. As part of the broader convivial turn within the study of everyday urban life (Wise & Noble, 2016), this article examines outdoor public ice rinks as spaces for encounter between strangers. With data drawn from 100 hours of naturalistic and participant observation at free and accessible outdoor public non-hockey ice rinks in two Canadian cities, we show how ‘rink life’ is animated by a shared everyday ethic of public sociability, with strangers regularly engaging in fleeting moments of sociable interaction. At first glance, researching the outdoor public ice rink may seem frivolous, but in treating it seriously as a public space we find it to be threaded through with an ethos of interactional equality, reciprocal respect, and mutual support. We argue that the shared everyday ethic of public sociability that characterizes the rinks that we observed is a function of the (1) public and (2) personal materiality required for skating; (3) the emergence of on ice norms; (4) generalized trust amongst users; (5) ambiguities of socio-spatial differentiation by skill; and (6) flattened social hierarchies, or what we call the quotidian carnivalesque. Our data and analysis suggest that by drawing together different generations and levels of ability, this distinct public space facilitates social interactions between strangers, and so provides insights relevant to planners, policy makers and practitioners.
... Evans and Penny, 2008), dominant from marginalized forms of masculinities (e.g. Adams, 2011;Messner, 1992;Pringle and Markula, 2005;), straight from gay/queer (e.g. Caudwell, 2003;Cox and Thompson, 2000;Krane, 1996) and bodies of differing sizes (e.g. ...
... Evans and Penny, 2008), dominant from marginalized forms of masculinities (e.g. Adams, 2011;Messner, 1992;Pringle and Markula, 2005;), straight from gay/queer (e.g. Caudwell, 2003;Cox and Thompson, 2000;Krane, 1996) and bodies of differing sizes (e.g. ...
... Contrary to more traditional sports settings where masculinity and men dominate, feminized or women-dominated sports are also arenas for boys' gender socialization. These sports may include figure skating (Adams, 2011), rhythmic gymnastics (Chimot & Louvaeu, 2010;Piedra, 2017), cheerleading (Bemiller, 2005;Grindstaff & West, 2006), dance (Mennesson, 2009), and baton twirling (Haltom, 2019). Men and boys in these feminized sports resist traditional models of sport and cross gendered boundaries (Haltom, 2019;Piedra, 2017). ...
Families and sports are spaces for “doing” and “undoing” gender. The author presents qualitative interviews with 30 American men who recall their parents’ involvement in the gender atypical sport of baton twirling. The author analyzes the data using “doing” and “undoing” gender as well as “hard” and “soft” essentialism frameworks. Mothers are often supportive of their sons’ twirling, contributing to “undoing” gender and relaxing “soft essentialism.” Fathers do not see baton twirling as a normative pathway to manhood or masculinity, thus reinforcing “hard essentialism.” Fathers often take on an absentee role in their sons’ twirling. In rare cases, fathers “do” gender by reformulating their sons’ twirling into a more recognizable sport. Findings consider how parents navigate gender when sons cross gendered boundaries in sports and the consequences for gender inequality.
... A dominant discourse describes sport as a heterosexual male domain and/or as a place where practices associated with desirable heterosexual masculinities are celebrated, although that may vary by context (e.g. Adams, 2011;Drummond, 1995;McKay et al., 2000). Kane (1995) and McKay et al. (2000) point to the social construction of differences between female and male athletes as one of the most powerful techniques employed to support male hegemony in sport. ...
One of the most important sources of knowledge coaches draw on to inform their practice is their experience of being coached themselves. These experiences are gendered. To date, however, relatively little research is available that indicates how coaches do gender in their discursive coaching practices. We used a Foucauldian lens to explore discourses drawn on by 12 international elite rowing coaches to legitimate their ‘regimes of truth’ in their thinking about elite women rowers. Although they professed to treat everyone the same regardless of gender, they drew on discourses that constituted their women athletes as inferior to various implicit male norms. We suggest that coaches are reproducing the discourses about gender into which they were disciplined during their athletic careers and regard these as ‘regimes of truth’ in their own coaching practice. We discuss the implications of these findings with regard to the perpetuation of the gendering of coaching and conclude that the normalization of men and the gendered hierarchy in sport remains largely unchallenged.
... Figure skating is currently a feminine sport, although it was traditionally male-dominated (Adams, 2011). This interesting exploration caused a change in her research towards a historical investigation on how gender expropriation occurs in sports. ...
In the last decades the women started to do sports which were originally masculine (Pfister, 1990). The parity led to the slow transformation of the old-school thinking about the traditional roles of sexes (Hall, 1996). The main questions of our investigation were whether the athletes’ thought of the figure skating and the ice hockey are different according to their sport or to the existing stereotypes in the Hungarian sport society. We used semi-structured interviews to gather opinions of two different gender type icy sports’ top women athletes (figure skating and ice hockey) to see their viewpoints about the gender equalization. We can verify Metheny (1965) findings, that the social acceptance or refusal of women in sports on the basis of traditional features is changing slightly. Research questions were: Are there differences in the childhood sport socialization processes of the representatives of the two sports? What was the motivation behind their choice of sports? Are there differences in the gender identities of female athletes? What is the athletes’ opinion on one another and the representatives of the other sport? Method was semi-structured in-depth interviews and the samples were the members of the Hungarian women ice hockey and figure skating national team. According to our results family and siblings were decisive in the childhood socialization process. Early age patterns do not seem to have much influence on the selection of sport. Although among water polo/ice hockey girls there were a few tomboys. Among the ice hockey team members there were girlish girls and boyish girls as well, but among the figure skaters there were no one who was boyish. No differences can be observed in their views on gender roles concerning for example employment or housework.
JEL Code: Z29
... Sociologists of sport identify diverging struggles for men and women athletes, most pronounced in sporting settings where gender expectations pressure athletes to conform to either feminine or masculine ideals. Women's ice hockey (Theberge 2000) and men's figure skating (Adams 2011) each challenge the naturalized association of masculinity to athleticism. Although these sports may hold a key to decoupling the associations between physical strength and male supremacy, oppressive gender expectations continue to limit both women and men, even in light of policy-driven change. ...
How did the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 politically define the “female athlete?” Since the mid-1970s, debates over the application of policy to athletic domains have been profoundly contentious. In this paper, I trace the policy deliberations concerning equity in athletics throughout the 1970s and explore the implications for our political understandings of what makes certain bodies “athletes” versus “female athletes” in contemporary sports and politics. I draw upon literatures from political science, sport sociology, and gender studies, and rely on archival methods to trace the process through which policymakers wed biological sex to policy implementation. I argue that Title IX unexpectedly became a central site for the construction of binary sex difference through three specific means: (1) conflict over the understandings of the role that biological sex should play in congressional debate before Title IX’s passage, (2) conflict over application of sex to policy design in light of perceived capacities of women’s bodies, and (3) naturalization of sex-segregated policy design which defines the relationship between sex and the physical body. The intersectional implications of Title IX’s history demonstrate that policy has not yet fully ameliorated the raced, classed, and heterosexist inequities haunting institutions of American education.
... Adams (2011) noted Olympic figure skater Dick Button's masculinity was questioned by his peers when he was a child and many male Olympic figure skaters have recounted being the target of bullying and verbal abuse because of the sport's public perception (Yahoo Sports, 2014). In response, some male figure skaters (e.g., Kurt Browning and Elvis Stojko) have emphasized athleticism and masculine imagery within the context of their performances (see Adams, 2011;Kestnbaum, 2003) and Skate Canada has tried to project masculinity within male figure skating by promoting elements like danger, risk and speed (see Jones, 2014). ...
An empirical analysis was conducted focusing on how the United States-based NBC and the Canada-based CBC portrayed male figure skaters in comparison with their male Winter Olympic counterparts on the networks' primetime 2014 Olympic broadcasts. Using 100% of all primetime broadcast content as a universe of investigation, NBC's and the CBC's commentary about male figure skaters was compared with the aggregate of all other male Winter Olympians in the areas of success, failure and personality/physicality. Analysis of NBC's primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games revealed five (5) significantly-different dialogue trends between male figure skaters and the aggregate of other male Winter Olympians, while analysis of the CBC's primetime coverage revealed seven (7) significantly-different dialogue trends between male figure skaters and the aggregate of other male Winter Olympians. Differences were not consistent from network to network, showing that NBC and CBC treated male figure skaters differently, yet in significantly different manners by network. Insights are offered on the theoretical and applied levels.
... In the homeland of ice hockey the Canadians think the same qualities and skills about the women ice hockey players than the male players. The figure skating is the only sport which is especially feminine sport according to Metheny (1965) categories, but traditionally was prevailed by men (Adams, 2011). After she recognized this phenomenon, she turned to a historical investigation on how gender expropriation occurs in sports. ...
The sport has significant role in the changes of the genders relation and helped to transform the conception of the sexes during the last fifty years. The women started to do conventionally male sports; the newest event was the ski jumping for female athletes at the Olympic Games of Soci. The gender stereotypes in the women sports can be stronger or weaker depending on the success or on the water haul. This phenomenon helps us to understand the new conceptions of the sexes in the context of the relationships of genders.
... Kestnbaum's (2003) work emphasizes bodily movements in figure skating from the perspective of performance studies. Adams's (2011) recent monograph traces the history and evolution of figure skating from a white, male, and upper-class privilege to a 'girls' sport', which is useful for challenging definitions of femininities and masculinities in sport. Rand's (2012) ethnographic study of women and queer figure skaters investigates multiple dimensions of a skater's identity, such as racial, sexual, and transgender issues in the sport -important considerations which my research extends beyond the U.S. context. ...
Anticipating the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, this article uses the triple axel jump, one of the most challenging moves in women’s figure skating, as a heuristic device to track representations of Japanese skaters Ito Midori and Asada Mao in the New York Times and Asahi Shimbun. Ito and Asada are two of only six women to have landed triple axels at international figure skating competitions. Employing affect and feminist theories, I argue that constructions of the skaters’ bodies are not just gendered and heteronormative, but also sexed, raced, and affective. Using discourse analysis, I trace how media representations of Ito and Asada redraw global color lines and national boundaries in sport and negotiate different femininities, underscoring excessive feelings and physical appearance. Contributing to feminist sport studies and transnational feminist cultural studies, this comparative analysis offers new perspectives on women’s sports in Japan and athleticism’s relation to race, femininities, and national identity.
... Athletes' competitive and ceremonial attire represents a national uniform, signalling national belonging through colour, motifs and the nation's name: the development and spread of Olympic national uniforming has been said to have marked the triumph of 'ideological theatre' over the early Olympic movement's utopian amateurism (Biddle-Perry 2012, 265). The very ways in which the sporting bodies perform as they compete may be intended -or expected -to embody a particular national subjectivity in its masculine or feminine varieties, especially -but not only -in the disciplines where judges reward artistry rather than quantitatively measure performance (Kestnbaum 2003;Adams 2011). Ideas about the gendered national bodies appropriate to one's own nation and other nations are also communicated through media commentary (Ličen and Billings 2013). ...
This paper evaluates the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games as an exercise in public history. Public events have been widely identified within the study of nationalism as festivals that attempt to reinforce national identity and belonging. Contemporary Olympic Games figure in this literature as a specific form of event where the nature and content of a host state's identity is displayed for the global gaze of other nations. While opening ceremonies perform a rich display of national identity in any case, London 2012 is particularly significant for taking place at a time of major political contestation in the UK and has frequently been interpreted as an expression of radical patriotism. Traces of such patriotic thought associated particularly with England can be found in the opening ceremony's historical pageant and overall concept, showing resonances with the work of Raphael Samuel, who argued for a radical patriotism grounded in a multiplicity of accounts of the national past from many social positions. Depicting the nation through a multiplicity of biographical narratives produces a ‘mosaic’ mode of representation which can be seen in other documentary and public history projects and in the political context of British public multiculturalism in the 2000s. This responds to the need for any national narrative to be composed through compressing the lives of millions of people into one coherent story, but complicates attempts to read a text such as the opening ceremony for what they ‘really’ mean. A model for understanding narratives of the past as being produced in interaction between their initial creator(s) and their reader(s) is necessary for understanding not only the London 2012 opening ceremony in particular but also public history and narratives of the national past in general.
In sport and sport media, figure skating is often perceived as ‘feminine’ and male skaters frequently occupy an ambiguous position, especially for Asian (American) athletes in a historically White-dominated sport. Based on discourse analysis, this article compares how English- and Japanese-language news narratives represent elite male figure skaters Nathan Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu, who are close rivals and skate for the United States and Japan respectively. We demonstrate how English-language media reinforce (U.S.) nationalism by portraying ‘Quad King’ Chen as hypermasculine for his athleticism and ‘Ice Prince’ Hanyu as feminized for his exceptional artistry. Despite being pitted against each other, we argue that in Japanese media narratives, their convivial rivalry and sportsmanship reveal what we call ‘Asian sporting masculinities’, alternative constructions of masculinities complicating monolithic stable understandings of masculinity in or congruous with the West. This study advances critical media and cultural studies by rethinking masculinities in Asian sporting bodies.
Men in women-dominated or feminized spaces use masculinizing strategies to circumvent stigma, yet this scholarship largely ignores sports which limits insights into how masculinity operates across social contexts. Drawing parallels from men’s experiences in other women-dominated settings, I address this gap by investigating how and to what end men in baton twirling “maneuver” masculinities. Using 30 qualitative interviews, I show how men in twirling bolster lost status using compensatory manhood acts (CMA) by demonstrating skill mastery and being the best. Twirlers in this study borrow masculine characteristics they deem valuable while also buying into an unequal social order that emphasizes differences between winners (white, heterosexual men) and losers (men of color or gay men). Findings from this study extend theoretical insights concerning how men maneuver within and across a variety of social structures by using similar tools to create a “hybrid” masculinity that reinforces gender privilege and hierarchies of inequality.
The paper analyses the position of women in Yugoslav sport through analysis of archival material and compares it to the position of women in Serbian sport half a century later. The subject and the goal of the paper are exposed in the introductory part of the paper, and the methods used in the paper are exposed in the special part of the paper. The results, discussion and conclusion are the remaining three parts of the paper. Authors conclude that despite the progressive policy conducted first by the post-WW2 Yugoslav government and then by the Serbian government in contemporary Serbia, the position of women in sports has remained essentially the same. Prejudice, misunderstanding and overall gender inequality are typical of both periods. This fact reveals the weaknesses of progressive policies lacking an adequate material basis, since the social conditions of rural areas are the main reasons for such inequality. Furthermore, authors point to the complexity and significance of the phenomenon and prove that the struggle for gender equality in sports is far from over, as the position of women in Yugoslav and Serbian sport has shown only slight improvement since the difficult initial steps.
In outdoor rock climbing, the first person who successfully ascends and sets up a route – the first ascensionist – chooses a name for it. Some first ascensionists issue discriminatory route names. This article explores how one group of climbing women negotiates misogynistic route names. I qualitatively analyse seventeen, individual, semi-structured interviews and four focus group interviews, and six themes emerge: frustration, helplessness, exclusion, internalized sexism, pushback, and intersection of sexism and settler colonialism. Adopting an intersectional feminist approach, I argue that the politics of naming routes cannot be divorced from a settler-colonial logic that has long used (re)naming land as a strategy for nation-building. I suggest incorporating decolonial theories into outdoor rock climbing to create more inclusive leisure environments.
This article contextualizes recent concerns about rest in the National Basketball Association by considering the concurrent rise of a promotional sleep culture. This work builds upon Grant Farred’s analysis of the event of the Black athletic body at rest. Drawing on research from the cultural studies of sport and the critical sleep literature, the author complicates the idea that rest, broadly conceived of as sleep, is a straightforward route to resistance or refusal. Instead of dislodging underlying racial logics or capitalist expectations, the promotion of sleep among National Basketball Association players makes their recovery habits subject to greater surveillance and commodification. Such developments have obvious consequences for athletes and sport systems. What is less apparent is how these social forces also shape collective understandings of sleep difficulties and how to solve them.
A mai kor nyugati társadalmaiban a nemi szerepek változása miatt egyre kevésbé szembetűnőek azok az eltérések, melyek a férfiak és nők az adott kultúrában hagyományosnak nevezhető norma- és értékrendszerében, viselkedésformáiban, tevékenységeiben évtizedekkel ezelőtt mutatkoztak. Napjainkban szélesebb és látványosabb a nők gazdaságot, politikát vagy éppen a munkaerőpiacot érintő szerepvállalása, de ezzel a "területfoglalás"-sal párhuzamosan már egy ellentétes irányú társadalmi folyamatnak is tanúi lehetünk: bár nem a nőkével azonos mértékben, de megindult a férfiak megjelenése is azokon a társadalmi színtereken, amelyek hagyományosan a gyengébb nemhez kötődtek. Ezek a folyamatok a 21. századra igen felgyorsultak, és velük párhuzamosan dinamikusan alakul a férfiasság-nőiesség koncepciója is. Léteznek hagyományos és immáron modernnek nevezhető női-férfi szerepek, melyek kultúránként sokszor hasonlóak; ezekhez köthetők férfias és nőies viselkedésformák, személyiségjegyek, de a nemekhez társulnak olyan sztereotípiák is, amelyek leírják az aktuálisan „ideális” vagy éppen attól eltérő nőt/férfit. Az így meghatározott társadalmi nem - az angolszász terminológiából már hazánkban is átvett gender - koncepciójának több vonatkozásban a biológiai nem képezi az alapját (pl. azért van ún. nőies munka, mert a nők gyengébb fizikumúak), de olyanok is, amelyeket nem lehet ahhoz kötni (a nők kevésbé bátrak, mint a férfiak, ezért egyes tevékenységek nem valók nekik); a nemekhez kötött biológiai, pszichológiai és kognitív jellemzők mentén pedig rögzülnek a nemi sztereotípiák.
Ezek, valamint maga a férfiasság és nőiesség koncepciói a nemek társadalmi helyzetében történő változásoknak köszönhetően lényegesen többet módosultak a 20. században, mint a biológiai nem definíciója, bár az orvostudomány, és azon belül is a genetika fejlődése számos kapcsolódó problematikát és megoldást tárt fel (a nemi kromoszómák, illetve a nemi hormonok szintjének atipikussága, a transzszexualitás jelensége, a nemátalakító műtétek lehetősége, stb). Mindez, valamint a nemek közötti egyenlőség - egyenlőtlenség, esélyegyenlőség - egyenlőtlenség hosszú idő óta fennálló dilemmája megkérdőjelezhetetlenné teszi a nyugati társadalomtudományokban már évtizedek óta jelen lévő gender kutatások létjogosultságát. A nemekkel kapcsolatos kérdéskörök vizsgálatát különösen indokolják az azokban mutatkozó kultúránkénti és
korszakonkénti eltérések és változások, illetve az érintett jelenségek kiszélesedő spektruma, amelyek ma már felölelik a társadalmi élet minden területét nemcsak szűken véve a gender, de az inter-, és multidiszciplináris összefüggések rendszerében is.
Since the introduction of ballet to Japan in the early 1900s, male dancers have figured prominently, with a profile equal to that of female dancers. Despite this, the association between ballet and girls’ cultures has been dominant in Japan, as in other cultures. As a consequence, ballet is often considered to be a highly ‘feminine’ activity, with associations as a ‘queer’ activity for males in contemporary culture. What does the increase in visibility of ballet in Japanese boys’ culture tell us? This paper examines Japanese popular media that target boys and men as its core audience, especially the magazine Dancin’, possibly the first ballet magazine in the world exclusively for boys and young men. I examine how the magazine operates in contrast to the female version to attempt to create a virtual, imagined community that might offer a sense of belonging and encouragement to otherwise isolated ballet boys.
Korfball was invented in a mixed Primary School in Amsterdam in the early 1900s [IKF (2006). Korfball in the Mixed Zone. KNKV; Summerfield and White (1989). Korfball: A Model of Egalitarianism. Sociology of Sport Journal, 6, 144–151]. The main catalyst for the development of korfball was a need for a competitive mixed sport that relied on cooperation and meant boys and girls could participate on a level playing field [Summerfield and White (1989). Korfball: A Model of Egalitarianism. Sociology of Sport Journal, 6, 144–151]. Previous research into gender in physical education (PE) has found that young people gain gender-related understandings through PE [Azzarito (2009). The Panopticon of PE: pretty, active and ideally white. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 14(1), 19–39; Azzarito and Solomon (2009). An Investigation of Students’ Embodied Discourses in PE: A gender project. Journal of Teaching in PE, 28, 173–191; Azzarito and Solomon (2010). A Reconceptualization of PE: The intersection of gender/race/social class. Sport, Education and Society, 10(1), 25–47; Chalabaev et al. (2013). The Influence of Sex Stereotypes and Gender Roles on Participation and Performance in Sport and Exercise: Review and future directions. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14, 136–144; Wright (1995). A Feminist Poststructuralist Methodology for the Study of Gender Construction in PE: Description of a Study. Journal of Teaching in PE, 15, 1–24]. [Thorne (1993). Gender Play: Girls and Boys in School. Rutgers University Press] argues that to remove binary thinking and notions of hegemonic masculinity and femininity, PE lessons should promote equality between girls and boys, reflect cooperation and teamwork between all, and demonstrate to students that gender inclusivity is achievable.
This paper will consider findings from a larger ethnographic study, in order to discuss how junior korfball players understand gender within their individual PE settings. It will also seek to discover whether players believe gender discourses can be negotiated in PE through the use of korfball. Players frequently referred to the limitations of their current PE experiences and suggested that the mixed element of korfball could provide opportunities for boys and girls to come together in PE. Players described how the structure of the korfball game reflects a need to use both sexes, which could improve mixed PE lessons. Players also discussed preconceived ideas about boys’ games and girls’ games, which led to problematic actions and interactions in current mixed PE settings. Findings suggest that embodied practices which demonstrate the abilities of girls, as well as boys, could lead to resistance of dominant discourses which reinforce gender difference and the physical inferiority of girls. They might provide a space which alters dominant discourse often reproduced in PE and sporting environments.
Employment, legal and social settings often expect the objective evaluation of others regardless of race, sex or other group identification. Such objectivity may be undermined by group membership that is difficult to detect. In this paper we exploit an institutional feature of figure skating, namely that figure skaters possess individual styles and technique, rather than their performance being influenced by club-specific characteristics, which allows us to identify the role of favouritism in a context where it is intended to be excluded. We can identify judges being influenced by group identity, in this case club membership and exhibiting favouritism for club members. We discuss the implications of our findings for rule which would help limit the role of favouritism in decision-making.
In the 1990s, Chinese and Chinese-American competitors in ladies’ figure skating used Oriental cultural elements in their winning World Championship programs. The cultures reflected were drawn from multiple regions within those considered the “Orient,” both Near Eastern, in the European conception, and Far Eastern, in the American conception. Although always a transnational performance form, figure skating has, from the 1980s onward, expanded from Euro American cultural dominance into greater prevalence among Asian countries and Asian American skaters within the US. This did not initially lead to greater presence of non-Western cultures in figure skating performances, until 1995 World Champion Chen Lu of China and 1996 World Champion Michelle Kwan of the US engaged in cultural portrayals beyond pure Euro American movement and visuality. Their choreography, however, drew much from Oriental performance already mediated by Western dance forms, and their performances were only “in character” within limits, in performances still dominated by technical elements.
This article examines attitudes towards homosexuality among male Major Midget AAA ice hockey players in Canada. Qualitative and quantitative surveys, interviews, and a social media content analysis were used to identify and analyze the ways in which the players perceive sexual orientation in a hockey context. This level presents a unique opportunity for investigation because the players, typically between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, find themselves at the intersection of a generation that is relatively inclusive of the queer community and a sport that can be said to encourage heterosexism. Informed by theories of masculinity and sport, the study situates itself within a body of literature that is divided regarding the current status of homophobia in sport.
This paper explores a shift in masculine sporting identities associated with the sport of curling in Canada. We argue that as curling has become increasingly professionalized, there has been a corresponding shift to representations of male curlers that valourize youth, strength and aggression, in contrast to a previous emphasis on maturity and sportsmanship. After a review of the history and context of curling’s popularity as a sport in Canada, we recount these representational shifts, drawing on official documents of curling associations and media coverage of the sport. At the same time, we suggest that extending conventional forms of sporting masculinity to curling sits uneasily beside new initiatives to encourage lifelong participation in sport. We draw on critical masculinity studies and sport studies to argue that age needs to be taken into account when mapping the diversity of masculinities. We further argue that sport is an important context for understanding complex intersections of age and gender, especially as physical activity is increasingly posited as essential to ‘successful aging.’ We suggest that curling provides an instructive and under-studied example of how these issues conjoin in constructing aging male embodiment, and suggest some directions for further study.
In its recognition of oppositional behavior as informed and political, resistance offers us a way to explore the interconnections between leisure and politics in meaningful ways. However, for the concept to have utility for theorizing theses interconnections, it needs to be located within broader theorizations of power. Drawing on the work of Foucault, this chapter offers a post-structural theorizing of power and resistance. In contrast to modernist binary conceptualizations of power and resistance, Foucault conceptualized power as circulating through a culture or a system and exercised at innumerable points and times. To Foucault, resistance was power exercised in the attempt to destabilize the limits of the present order. The chapter applies Foucault’s perspective of resistance as “against limits” to leisure, and argues that we can think of leisure as resistance when it expands the possibilities for what we can do and who we might imagine ourselves to be.
Despite the high number of homosexual male athletes involved in figure skating, heteronormative performance is integral to the sport, particularly in ice dance which requires teams or “couples” to portray a close relationship on the ice. In their 2012 free dance programme, Canadian ice dance champions and Olympic gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir facilitated their portrayal of a romantic relationship by skating to music from Funny Face, a 1957 Hollywood musical starring Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn. Using Richard Schechner’s distinction between “make believe” and “make belief” performances and Susan Sontag’s definition of camp, I argue that Moir not only wants to “make believe” that he is performing the role of Fred Astaire, but also wishes to “make belief” that he is as skilled as the American dancer in presenting his partner. Moir, though, introduces a camp aesthetic into the performance through his exaggerated facial expressions and gestures which causes him rather than Virtue to be the fem...
Young girls or young women with girlish figures now commonly enter into women’s elite figure skating. This ‘girlification’ can be partly attributed to the structural age rules, the rules that govern the age-specific training advancement in figure skating. The purpose of this research was to explore how the female elite Canadian singles figure skaters experienced the structural age rules during their careers. To examine the skaters’ experiences, 10 former elite Canadian women singles skaters were interviewed. A critical feminist lens was used to interpret the interviewees’ experiences with the structural age rules that might sustain domination of girls in the women’s event.
From the earliest Olympic Games, the bodies of skaters and swimmers were gendered, raced and sexualized, with media coverage playing a key role in these processes. Debates about appearance, attire and comportment are central to questions of identity construction and the swimming and skating body. The Gay Games provide a compelling case study of a counter-hegemonic sporting event, and reveal some of the contradictions in Olympic sport.
Sex, gender and sexuality are actively constituted and fluid, not biologically predetermined and immutable. Athletes challenge gender binaries by embodying and performing a wider range of femininities and masculinities. The analysis presented here is based on three models of sportive movement, in combination with the key elements of an intersectional approach: identity construction and the body, symbolic representations and social structures.
This article uses British diver and homosexual celebrity Tom Daley as a case study to examine instances of homosexual stereotyping on LGBT internet forum the DataLounge. Through textual analysis, I consider the anonymous discourse relating to Daley in terms of its representational implications. Of interest is how Daley is constructed through this discourse and what such constructions have to tell us about views on homosexuality and a particular well-known homosexual subject. I argue that Daley is objectified and aligned with certain stereotypes within this dedicated homosexual forum via the anonymous comments made about his profession, his body and mannerisms, and his personal life. I nominate certain ‘themes’ to make sense of this discourse, namely: the ‘dancer body’, the bottom, the slut, and the daddy’s boy. In addition to offering insight into how a particular homosexual celebrity is constructed through discourse by his own community, these themes also point to the pressures gay men feel to conform to ‘ideals’, and the consequences of nonconformity, of being a ‘failed representation’ (also known as a ‘stereotype’).
Research has shown that since the turn of the millennia, matters have rapidly improved for gays and lesbians in sport. Where gay and lesbian athletes were merely tolerated a decade ago, today they are celebrated. This book represents the most comprehensive examination of the experiences of gays and lesbians in sport ever produced. Drawing on interviews with openly gay and lesbian athletes in the US and the UK, as well as media accounts, the book examines the experiences of 'out' men and women, at recreational, high school, university and professional levels, in addition to those competing in gay sports leagues. Offering a new approach to understanding this important topic, Out in Sport is essential reading for students and scholars of sport studies, LGBT studies and sociology, as well as sports practitioners and trainers. © 2016 Eric Anderson, Rory Magrath and Rachael Bullingham. All rights reserved.
This chapter discusses the ways that sport historians have analyzed the meanings of a gendered concept known variously as manhood, manliness, or masculinity. It also draws attention to the slippery meanings of these terms – in some historical contexts this concept has been created in opposition to women, but in others it has been an age-based concept (created in opposition to children), or one that implies a certain type of morality that is tied to presumably male types of behavior or thought. The chapter explains the origins of historians' concern with “manliness” and also surveys important works on the topic in light of the histories they tell. In the process, it exposes some of the theoretical complications that come to the surface through conscious study of this topic, and then closes with some observations on the state of the field and some suggestions for future scholarship.
Between 1960 and 1991, the heavy shadow of the Cold War (1946–1991) hung over the consideration of American sport, influencing how we considered sport's role in our society. However, most research into the role of sport in American society has focused on several key areas. Among those have been the continued integration and globalization of sport, the role of women in sport, along with exploration of how sport creates or affects our conception of masculinity, the impact of television and mass media, the effect of sport on academic institutions, the course of the “athletic revolution”, which called into question the value of sport that began to be contested in both academic and popular writings. Since 1960 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and some independent bodies have attempted to make various reforms, but college athletics have become ever grander spectacles which have hampered efforts at meaningful reform.
In this article I examine whether justice in New Zealand is better served through the provision of gender-inclusive or gender-segregated men’s netball competitions (where netball began as a late 19th century women’s version of basketball). While the New Zealand Men’s Netball Association (henceforth called the ‘men’s association’) was initially established in 1984 under an inclusive ethos rooted in Māori community-based and fa’afafine 1-based competitions, by the end of that most overtly transgender and fa’afafine players were excluded so as to boost the association’s heterosexist credentials. This process culminated in 2004 when the men’s association was replaced by the New Zealand Men’s and Mixed Netball Association (henceforth called the ‘mixed association’). While in principle medically verified postoperative transgender women may now play in mixed-gender leagues, virtually none do. Furthermore, anyone who foregoes such treatment – including fa’afafine – must dress as men in order to play. If it is the coercion that makes coercive gender segregation problematic then perhaps justice would be best served if men’s netball was a gender-neutral activity. This seems consistent with the gendered history of both netball and men’s netball in New Zealand.
In 1974, David Best rightly contrasted purposive sports (exemplified by most sports) with aesthetic sports; and recently I was careful to exempt the issues for aesthetic sports from my critique of the prospects for an all-embracing philosophy of officiating. While discretion plays a part in umpiring or refereeing in both kinds of sports, it is especially important for aesthetic sports (such as gymnastic vaulting, ice-skating or diving), where the manner of execution determines victory. Here, it is urged that the issue of objectivity for judgements in aesthetic sports is not the most crucial aspect: we have reason to expect correct accounts from knowledgeable, sensitive and experienced judges or umpires. Impartiality remains a concern, of course, not least between the training for judges or umpires might tend to favour particular styles of performing key movements. So that many past rule-changes are explained as attempts to improve fairness, with competitors getting their ‘just deserts’. In doing so, they have implicitly contributed to what is then valued in the manner of execution in aesthetic sports. The term ‘aesthetic’ is generally applied in its positive valence, although one must recognize the negative valence also. But, for aesthetic sports, the rules provide guidance as to what will or will not be regarded positively in the context of competition. And rule-changes here will sometimes be best explained as attempting to modify what is rewarded in such sports, the manner of performance. Such changes might be expected to bear on the character of the sport (here exemplified through men’s ice-skating).
From their initial coverage of her as she first established a reputation as a skater to the deluge of media attention following the attack on Nancy Kerrigan, journalists have shared two narrative strategies for analyzing Tonya Harding. First, they focus relentlessly on what they consider to be the crisis of her working-class childhood, and second, they argue that no one has adequately considered the role of class in Harding’s life. This article looks closely at the way Tonya Harding has been figured by the press as the nexus of various scripts about the relationship between class and identity. As the author shall show, Harding fascinates the media because she does not conform to an easy role in the morality play about hard work and social ambition. Harding thwarts expectations about what good working-class girls should want and should do, and she crystallizes the public’s endless appetite for thinking about class and class distinctions. At the same time, the author shall argue that Harding’s departures from conventional class scripts reveal the limitations of analyses that attempt to take seriously the relationship between class and other elements of identity such as gender and race, as well as those that understand the more intangible ways that class is lived and experienced by social actors.
