Abstract
The sport of horseback riding is dominated by girls in the United States and many other places. Why do United States girls love horses, dream of, pretend to be, talk and obsess about, draw and, if possible, care for and ride horses and more horses? In my thirty in depth interviews, women who were once horse crazy girls say that it was both because of this love, that is, because of their relationships with horses, and because in this loving relationship, they gained a kind of freedom and power by becoming something more, and coming to belong. With horses, these girls seemed to enact themselves as loving beings; they became themselves in ways that reinforce, but ultimately challenge “normal” roles for girls in society.
Presenters
Jean HalleyProfessor of Sociology, Sociology and Anthropology, College of Staten Island and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Sporting Cultures and Identities
KEYWORDS
Horseback Riding, LGBTQ+ Girls, Disability, Horse Crazy Girls, Horse Lives
