Abstract
Historically sport has intersected masculinity, athleticism, and heterosexism. In large part “sporty bodies” have remained dominant and aggressive in the central configuration of sport culture. Scholars have argued that “sporty masculinity” is fundamentally about how the performance of male bodies convey or express other normative requirements relating to gender and sexualities. The bodily displays and performances of sporty masculinities is centrally located at the nexus of masculinities, homophobia, and sport. And while sporting masculine identities often hinge on stereotypical assumptions of what it means to be a man, we examine the profeminist politics of male athletes invested in resisting and challenging heterosexism and homophobia in sport. Informed by masculinities studies, sport sociology and feminist research, this paper draws narratives of a group of young men who took-part in semi-structured interviews to help provide insight into the complicated and messy understandings intersecting sport, masculinity, bodies, heterosexuality, and homophobia. We argue that bodies are not limited as symbols or signs but rather they are seen as sharing in social agency, in generating and shaping courses of social conduct. As critical researchers, drawing on interview data we highlight recurring themes across a group of male athletes whose investment in sport has lead them to take up activist positions addressing homophobia. Rather than reaffirming and perpetuating the regulative rules and codes of masculinity, this research contributes data that suggests how and when some men intentionally disrupt hegemonic masculinity and challenge homophobia in team sport.
Presenters
Chris BorduasStudent, PhD Educational Research, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada Brendan Gough
Leeds Beckett University Michael Kehler
Research Professor of Masculinities Studies in Education, Education, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Sporting Cultures and Identities
KEYWORDS
Masculinity, Allyship, Homophobia, Bodies, Team Sport
