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Research in the Sociology of Sport

Series Editors: Joseph Maguire and Kevin Young

Research in the Sociology o f Sport reflects current themes in the sociology of sport and also captures innovative trends as they emerge in the work of scholars across the globe. The series brings together research from experts on established topics whilst also directing attention to themes that are at the ‘cutting-edge’ of this subdiscipline.

This new and exciting series examines the relationships between sport, culture and society. The function, meaning and significance of sport in contemporary societies are critically appraised. Attention is given to both small-scald micro levels of interaction in sport subcultures and also to how these sport subcultures exist within the macro processes reflected in the historical and structural'features of societies.

Each volume of Research in the Sociology o f Sport will have specially commissioned experts examining a common theme. The existing body of knowledge on specific topics will be reviewed, specific aspects will be focussed on and new material highlighted.

Related titles of interest:

Current Perspectives in Social Theory Studies in Symbolic Interaction Studies in Qualitative Methodology

For further details visit the Elsevier Science Catalogue at http://www.elsevier.com

THEORY, SPORT & SOCIETY

E o r r e o BY

JOSEPH MAGUERE Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK

KEVIN YOUNG Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK

2002

JAI A n Im print o f E lsevier Science

A m sterdam - Boston - London - N ew York - O xford - Paris San Diego - San Francisco - Singapore - Sydney - Tokyo

Chapter 5

Sport, G ender, Fem inism

Shona M. Thom pson

How often have you heard the phrase “I’m not a feminist, b u t . . used in conversations concerning women? Every time it is uttered, it seems to perfectly capture the enormous ambivalence that continues to surround feminism. In making such a statement, the speaker is personally distancing herself from the negative stereotypes surrounding what has been derogatively described as the latest ‘f- w ord’ (Richards & Parker, 1995). At the same time, however, she is acknowledging that feminism is recognised as having been responsible for bringing about some major gains for women.

The ‘but’ in the statement is significant. It is usually followed by a call for some'form of change in gender relations; some desire for a better deal for herself or other women expressed in response to a personally experienced or perceived injustice based on gender. Among sportswomen, for example, it may be anything from having her soccer game relegated to a second-rate field, to recognising the enormous disparity in rewards between*sportsmen and sportswomen. Such situations illustrate what has long been understood by feminists — that in women’s everyday experiences, ‘the personal is political’.

Although feminism remains a much misrepresented and often feared term, it is nevertheless recognised for having helped forge major social and political change in the past century, and for revolutionising the way gender and gender relations are now theorised and understood. Here lies a reason for the negative, sometimes hostile, responses to the word. For women to gain greater opportunities and access to public life, it has often required men to give up some of the privileges they have historically enjoyed. When social and political activism highlights inequalities in the way social life is organised, and advocates for changes that require those in privileged positions to give up some of that status, controversy and resistance seem likely (Coakley, 1994).

So, ‘What is feminism, anyway?’ Chris Beasley’s (1999) recent book of that title explains how, after approximately thirty years of what is known as the ‘second wave’ of feminism, it remains an ill-defined and misunderstood term.

Theory, Sport & Society Copyright © 2002 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. ISBN: 0-7623-0742-0

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Furthermore, over that time, feminism has developed into a highly complex and sophisticated mode of understanding, which has tended to add to the confusion. While it is now well recognised that there are many forms and applications of feminism, it is nevertheless still possible to identify some of the key principles that underpin its various approaches.

Fundamentally, feminism champions the belief that women have rights to all the benefits and privileges of social life equally with men. For the purposes of those concerned with sport, this means that girls and women have the right to choose to participate in sport and physical activity without constraint, prejudice or coercion, to expect their participation to be respected and taken seriously, and to be as equally valued and rewarded as sportsmen. These do not seem too much to ask.

Nevertheless, feminist attention to sport has revealed a history of women being denied opportunities, of being restricted and excluded from participation, of having our accomplishments ignored or ridiculed, of hearing our efforts being used as male forms of derision, of having our labour and our bodies exploited in the name of sport, and of being divided against each other by endemic misogyny and homophobia. Sport remains one of the most problematically gender-defined and gender-divided aspects of social life, and our understandings of this have come about largely through the deliberate engagement of feminist perspectives to the study of sport as a social institution.

When feminism is used to study any social institution, it is engaged, by definition, at three interconnected levels. First, feminism critiques traditional forms of knowledge to expose how these may be generated from an androcentric perspective, developed traditionally by men, based largely on male subjects and male experiences. Second, it develops its own knowledge and theories, based on the understanding that society is predominantly patriarchal and structured in ways which give men greater power and privilege. Feminist analysis focuses on what this means to the ways women experience their lives. Third, feminism is a form of activism, /directed by knowledge about the reality of women’s lives that feminist analysis seeks to illuminate. This knowledge provides the motivation and focus for whatever pressure is necessary to bring about social change for women’s equal opportunities, enhanced quality of life and greater safety.

In this chapter, I shall focus on the impact of feminist scholarship on the sociological study of sport. I begin with an overview of the early meeting of sociology of sport and feminism, and introduce some of its ‘foremothers’. Following that, I discuss feminism as being concerned with political advocacy and social change. Then I identify some of the key areas to which feminist scholarship has, over many years, been applied to the study of sport and give examples o f the understandings that have resulted from this scholarship. These

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include women’s experiences of sport, patriarchy and male power in sport, media representations of sportswomen, and issues relating to female sporting bodies.

Sociology of Sport meets Feminism

The application of feminism to studies of sport began in earnest in the late 1970s. While there was a growing academic interest in women’s participation in sport prior to this, it was not characterised by an obvious or consistent feminist focus. Susan Birrell’s (1988) article, ‘Discourses on the Gender/Sport Relationship: From Women in Sport to Gender Relations’, concisely documents the transition in the sociology of sport from a focus on women’s sport to an understanding of the significance of gender in the analyses of all sport, which was clearly informed by feminist scholarship. Birrell dates Ann Hall’s (1978) monograph as the turning point. She described Hall’s work as “the first to attempt a definition of feminism, the first to understand the feminist critique of social science, and the first to briitg feminist paradigms to bear on sport” (Birrell, 1988: 472). At the time, Birrell correctly predicted that a theoretically-based feminist perspective would inform future sociology of sport.

One of the earliest tasks undertaken by feminist scholars was a critique of the androcentric scientific models that had been previously used to address questions regarding women and sport. It was recognised that scientific research questions are derived from sets of assumptions which, in turn, translate into the sorts of explanations that the answers to those questions bring. Feminist scholars saw it necessary to base their inquiries on a new set of assumptions, and therefore asked different questions from those that had informed traditional male-oriented science. For example, as Birrell (1988) explained, when faced with women’s low participation rates in sport, shifting the research question from ‘why aren’t women more interested in sport?’ to ‘why are women excluded from sp o rt? ’, or ‘why is the relationship betw een women and sport problematic?’, reflects vastly different assumptions about the ‘causes’ of women’s low participation rates. The feminist scientific agenda was to ask questions that reflected the social world as perceived and experienced by women.

Much of the early feminist sociology of sport of the 1980s drew on the developing feminist critiques of other academic disciplines, particularly the social sciences, challenging the methodological, theoretical and political practices that had prevailed, and exposing the intellectual sexism in the scientific traditions (Birrell, 1984; Hall, 1984; Theberge, 1985). This exercise did not

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happen without tension. As feminist scholars challenged other theoretical perspectives, there was much debate about the supremacy of various types of analyses, particularly regarding the relative importance of class or gender (e.g., Deem, 1989). Feminists argued, however, that intellectual disciplines that did not adopt a feminist perspective would be left ‘gender-blind’ and therefore grossly inadequate in theoretical terms (Cole, 1994; Deem, 1988; Hall, 1985a).

While much of this work was being done in North America, the influence of feminism was occurring world-wide, albeit with differing emphases. In the UK, for example, the study of women and sport was contextualised in a broader critique of leisure, posing questions about women’s access to leisure time and space. Griffin et al. (1982) highlighted how patriarchy, structuring all levels of society, was based on the sexual divisions of labour and control over women’s sexuality and fertility, which “allocat(ed) women to a primarily reproductive role, through which all their .other roles are mediated (1982: 90, original emphasis). This, they argued, had implications for women’s leisure in that it both structured women’s lives and affected perceptions of what was appropriate behaviour for them. Other feminist scholars identified the constraints and controls on women’s leisure as being related to how they were (or were not) engaged in paid work, their primary responsibility for the care of others, and male control of women’s activities and leisure spaces (Deem, 1986; Green et a l, 1990; Wimbush and Talbot, 1988). Sporting opportunities for women were considered in the context of their access to leisure.

The rapid spread to other parts of the world of feminist concerns about sport and physical activity came about through publications in international journals, such as Hall (1987), and through many, specifically focused conferences where it was common practice for speakers to be deliberately invited to bring a feminist perspective. For example, conferences held in Sydney, Australia (1980) and in Wellington, New Zealand (19S1) featured feminists from other countries who ‘spread the word’, calling for the urgent application of feminist analysis and activism to sport and recreation, to help bring'about the necessary changes for women’s greater participation opportunities and rewards (Darlison, 1981; Hall, 1985b).

Feminism, Advocacy and Change

As mentioned previously, feminism is multi-dimensional. As well as being a theoretical perspective employed to analyse the social world, it encompasses a commitment to changing aspects of that world which disadvantage women and other iharginalised groups. Feminists deliberately strive for that change. There,

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have been, however, vastly differing views about what exactly needs to be changed, and how those changes could or should be brought about. Two of the main views, derived from differing forms of feminism, became known as ‘liberal’ and ‘radical’.

Liberal feminism advocates for women’s greater involvement in social life by enhancing their opportunities to join existing institutions and structures, such as government, paid work or sport. The way to achieve this, for example, is through the development and use of legal and social policies, such as Human Rights and Equal Opportunity legislation, to open up social structures for increased opportunities for girls and women.

Advocates of radical change, on the other hand, are more likely to be critical of those social structures, to want to challenge the practices and ideologies surrounding them that are considered fundamentally sexist, exclusionary or harmful. For example, radical feminists would advocate that it is not good enough to simply add more women (or more from ethnic minority groups, or more people with disabilities) to sports organisations in their existing forms, but that the organisations themselves, and sport as it is practised, needs to be ‘radically’ changed to make it a fairer, safer, more enriching and rewarding possibility for everyone.

In effect, the liberal agenda has been more successful. Hall (1995) compared women’s sport advocacy organisations and provided a thorough overview of advocacy efforts for women and sport to that date. In this, she analysed four feminist organisations: the Women’s Sport Foundation (USA); the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport and Physical Activity; the Women’s Sport Foundation (UK); and Womensport Australia. Hall also included a description of the 1994 international conference where The Brighton Declaration on Women and Sport was drawn up and where the organisation, Womensport International, was launched. While women’s participation in sport has increased, she concluded that it has been difficult to ‘p o litic ise ’ sportswomen and women’s sport. Although there have been “significant gains in bringing more girls and women into sport, . . . sport itself remains as male- dominated and as male-oriented as always. This is not meaningful progress’’ (Hall, 1995: 245).

Women in sports advocacy organisations have commonly envisaged radical changes to the institution of sport but have had little success (Hall, 1996). Those who have been critical of sporting structures have noticed how difficult it is to accomplish radical change against the strength of the conservative, patriarchal power controlling sport, and hegemonic values that are increasingly ‘market’ orientated. For example, Jim McKay was funded by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) to investigate why there were so few women in Australian

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sports organisations with the understanding that this would help improve the situation (McKay, 1992). When his interviews with sports administrators turned up unsolicited criticism about how the ASC handled gender equity issues, his research was discredited (by both the ASC and the media), his academic integrity attacked, and he was forced to change aspects of the research report before it was approved for release (McKay, 1993).

Another example; in 1987,1 described how huge numbers of women in New Zealand had protested against the country’s sporting exchanges with what was then Apartheid South Africa; directing that protest at men’s rugby in ways that clearly demonstrated existing fury and frustration at how this sport symbolised and perpetuated white supremacist patriarchal power (Thompson, 1988). At the time I noted the general optimism felt in the aftermath of the protests for a resulting change in gender relations, in which men’s rugby would no longer dominate New Zealand social life or psyche. Instead, we have witnessed what Jackson (1995) succinctly described as the “transformation, reinvention and reassertion’’ oftugby as a full>t professionalised, commercialised and mediated sport. Its dominance in New Zealand culture has arguably surpassed anything previously known, and young New Zealand women are now numbered large amongst its fans (Thompson, 1999a). Such examples have illustrated how difficult it is to achieve radical feminist visions for change and how change that comes about is not always for the better.

The Standpoint of Women and their Experiences of Sport

From the earliest feminist studies of sport, similar stories emerged from many parts of the world about the dismal, inequitable status of women’s sport. It was never suggested that women had not always been active in sport and physical recreation, but that the opportunities for this had been limited, women’s involvement made difficult and their achievements hidden. Margaret Talbot (1988) commented that the, by then, well documented constraints mitigating against women’s participation in sport made depressing reading. Detailed accounts of women’s experiences in sport were rare. Like other areas of human endeavour, sport histories and biographies were mainly written by men, about men, and for men, and thus records of the struggles, joys and richness experienced by sportswomen were conspicuously few (Hargreaves, 1994). Furthermore, there was an emerging preoccupation with issues considered problematic in women’s sport, such as the supposed conflict between athleticism and femininity. To counter this, Talbot (1988) drew on personal accounts of sportswomen to explain the importance and meaning of sport in their lives, illustrating the importance of

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empowerment and “the ability and capacity of women to speak for themselves, to control their own activities, to be taken seriously, and to define elements of their worlds according to their own terms and values” <Talbot, 1988: 88). Knowledge from the standpoint of women was much needed.

Feminist scholars proposed that women’s ‘standpoint’ was the only authentic base from which knowledge about women’s lives could be generated and understood. Some argued that, because women were located in a position of subordination, this allowed them to understand the world both through their own experiences of it and from the knowledge of their oppressors, in a form of ‘double consciousness’ (Smith, 1987). This double vision was not available to the dominant ̂ roup because they had no experience of the world from marginal positions (Reddock, 1998). It was acknowledged that there was, therefore, a distinctive feminist epistemology (Hall, 1985a; Harding, 1990). In other words, feminism informed the production of knowledge by challenging and addressing questions about what is ‘known’, how knowledge is validated, and who is a ‘knower’ (Stanley & Wise, 1990). These questions underpin the principles guiding the ways to ‘do’ feminist research. While the specific methods vary, feminist research is grounded in recognition of women’s standpoints, and is motivated to produce and extend the knowledge about women’s lives and realities to assist change (Roberts, 1981; Stanley & Wise, 1983). Such research has contributed much to the literature about women’s experiences of sport. Not surprisingly, it has shown how these experiences are culturally framed, particularly by gendered definitions of femininity, sexuality, wifehood and motherhood, and are influenced by specific economic and socio-political structures.

For example. Jay Coakley and Anita White (1992) talked with teenagers in England about what influenced their involvement in sport. They found that decisions about integrating sport into these young people’s lives were based on their sense of what was important in their lives, and this had very strong ties with .gender. The young women seldom defined themselves as athletes, having a narrow definition of what this meant and not relating readily to that definition, even those who were active in sport. These young women accepted gender-based constraints on their activities, such as limited family funds for their sport, parental constraints that were more rigid for daughters, and the expectation of ceasing their interests to accommodate those of their boyfriends. The research showed how traditional cultural practices related to gender had been incorporated into these young women’s lives and identities in ways of which they were mostly unaware and did not generally resist.

Scraton et al. (1999) also followed qualitative research procedures to “allow sportswomen to articulate their own feelings about being women who play and

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enjoy sport” (1999: 101), highlighting the necessity to consider these experiences in historical and cultural contexts. Theirs was a multi-national study, based on interviews with sportswomen in England, Germany, Norway and Spain, done by nationals of those countries. Their report on soccer indicated differences between the countries, such as the extent to which the lib e ra l-fe m in ist agenda had in creased w om en’s access to sporting opportunities. These were less developed in England and Spain, where schools are “particularly . . . inscribed by powerful gender ideologies” and do not provide encouragement for young women to play soccer (Scraton et al., 1999: 107). While the researchers acknowledged the need to understand national differences, they considered it important to note similarities in order to recognisd the .gender regimes* experienced by sportswomen across national boundaries. One similarity was the acceptance, encouragement and admiration these soccer players had received .as young girls who challenged conventional standards of femininity by being ‘tomboys’ or ‘like boys’ in playing soccer. As adult women, however, transgressing such gender boundaries became problematic, as distinctions between masculinity and femininity move into the realm of sexuality: “Adult women face tensions between their active physicality as footballers and what is deemed ‘safe’ heterosexual femininity” (Scraton et al., 1999: 108). Similar tensions were expressed by women soccer players in New Zealand (Cox & Thompson, 2000).

In Australia, I interviewed women aged over 40 who had long careers as recreational tennis players (Thompson, 1992). These women were passionate about their sport and had spent decades organising their domestic lives in elaborate ways in order to continue playing. Their participation was facilitated by a regular, large-scale tennis competition established under the assumption that women tennis players were not in full-time paid employment but whose sport needed to be confined to times outside those during which husbands and children demanded care. The conditions under which these women played their sport were in.stark contrast to those experienced by male tennis players, where a husband’s participation could have an immense impact on the lives of his wife and children (Thompson, 1999b).

Furthermore, women’s domestic labour actually facilitated and serviced the participation of their husbands. These women’s experiences of sport were constructed by the gendered relationship to paid work and domestic labour, and ideologies of wifehood and motherhood, which privileged the sport of men and children while women’s remained invisible.

Nancy Theberge’s (1999) analysis of women’s ice hockey in Canada challenges the notion that women’s version of such masculinised sport is somehow different because women are involved, or that women have different

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expectations of sport. She cited “strong evidence of the enjoyment and sense of accomplishment that women hockey players (and all athletes) derive from the physicality of sport” (1999: .155). Theberge focused on images through sport of women’s strength, power and aggression, and engages with the debate about whether women should ‘buy into’ male models of sport including those that are inherently violent. Through a discussion about the prohibition of body-checking in women’s hockey, she raises issues about what are considered ‘real’ versions of sport, and how women’s can be construed as alternative and inferior.

In 1993, Alison Dewar reminded us that, what had to date been universalised as ‘women’s sporting experiences’, were more precisely the experience of white, middle-class, heterosexual, non-disabled women (Dewar, 1993). As feminist researchers, this was a call for us to be explicit about whose experiences we were representing and to recognise that generalisations could not be readily made to other women. Also, we needed to listen to women with backgrounds other than our own and make space for their experiences to be heard. Birrell (1989) had earlier drawn attention to the absence of writing in the sociology of sport by women of colour. These calls highlighted the issue of ‘identity politics’ within feminist scholarship, “the belief that the most radical politics comes directly out of our own identity (as a woman of colour, as a lesbian, as a woman with disabilities, as an old woman)” (Hall, 1996:44). This required re-theorising relations among women, to understand how the oppression of women who did not'identify with the dominant group is qualitatively different because of the layering of other ‘isms’, such as racism, heterosexism, able-bodyism and ageism.

Studies conducted from the standpoint of other marginal identities are emerging in the sociology of sport. Arguably, the largest volume is that concerning lesbian identities, such as Biigit Palzkill’s (1990) accounts of women athletes in Germany, Gill Clarke’s (1997) record of the experiences of lesbian physicaLeducation teachers in Britain, and Caroline Fusco’s (1998) interviews with lesbian team-sport players in North America. Some are informed by ‘queer theory’, such as Eng (1997). All document the impact of heterosexism and homophobia in sport and physical education, and its impact of silencing lesbians and discrediting their achievements, such as has also been addressed by Griffin (1998) and Lenskyj (1991).

There are fewer published reports of the experiences of sport written by women of colour. Recently, Deslea Wrathall in New Zealand, speaking for Maori .women^ reported on the institutionalised racism in sports organisations which, arnong other oppressive practices, failed to recognise the importance to Maori sportswomen of their whanau (extended family), who are ignored in the

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everyday decisions made about the experiences of Maori women as elite sport performers (Thompson, Rewi & Wrathall, 2000). Jennifer Hargreaves (1994) argues that the British sports system (from which New Zealand’s is derived) reflects traditions based in ‘w hite’ culture, and values that include the celebration of individualism and ‘free will’, which are “inappropriate for a modern multi-racial society”. She explains that this “is why the discourse of racism in women’s sport has to a large extent been repressed” (Hargreaves, 1994: 260), highlighting research done in the UK about the experiences of Afro Caribbean women and those in British Asian communities (Carrington, Chivers & Williams, 1987; Lovell, 1991). The intersecting relationship between racial identity and gender relations, framed by colonial relations of power, is also explored by Victoria Paraschak (1999) in reference to Canada’s First Nation’s women.

Exam ining women with disabilities, Jennifer Hoyle recognised the contribution of fem inist theory when she commented, “feminist theory' complements disability research in terms of the advances it has made in bringing the voices of oppressed grolips to the fore” (Hoyle & White, 1999; 255). She challenges the notion that women with disabilities view their experiences in only negative terms, highlighting how their strengths as women with disabilities also become part of their realities. They challenge the norms of sporting experiences for the way “the boundaries between the disabled and the non-disabled are left undisturbed” (1999: 265), being well aware of the need to constitute themselves in a world that values health and beauty from a non-disabled orientation.

As Hargreaves concludes, “the idea that women in sport are a homogeneous group has been resisted” (1994: 288), just as the myth of women’s consensual, shared experience of sport must also be challenged. Feminist concerns for women’s standpoint and identity politics have highlighted how “such factors as age, disability, class, ethnicity and sexuality make women different from one another”, irrespective of their variable and complex relationships with men (Hargreaves, 1994; 288). Fully recognising and giving voice to such differences' remains our challenge.

Sport, Patriarchy and Male Power

A basic assumption of feminist theory is the view that society is patriarchal, in that every avenue of power is male controlled (Millet, 1970) and we live by an ideology of male superiority (Hartman, 1981). In this context, sport is viewed not simply as yet another patriarchal structure, but also one in which patriarchy is symbolised and reconstructed. Feminist-inspired sociology of sport has recognised the power that men hold in and through sport, and how this power is

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both real and symbolic. Men dominate and control sport structures, and sporting ideologies carry messages that connect masculinity, power and superiority.

Aside from the more obvious, international, patriarchal sports organisations, like the IOC, FIFA, and FINA, research from various parts of the world has shown the persistent male control of sport, and the immense obstacles with respect to change (Cameron, 1996; Fasting & Sisjord, 1986; Hall e t a i , 1989; NicKay, 1997; White & Brackenridge, 1985). These obstacles largely come from male resistance to power-sharing, but are also testament to masculine hegemony in sport. Feminist sociology of sport has recognised the significance of sport as a key site for creating ideologies of male dominanee, where images, beliefs and practices of masculine power and superiority are continually replayed and reproduced. The potency of messages about male power relies upon maintaining beliefs in distinct differences between genders, which is assisted by producing images of male physical strength and muscularity, alongside those that denigrate femininity, women and their sporting activities.

In 1973, Kenneth Sheard and Eric Dunning wrote an article titled ‘The Rugby Football Club as a Type of ‘Male Preserve”, in which they detailed how traditional practices within rugby culture, “(had) as a central theme, the mocking, objectification and defilement of women and homosexuals” (1973: 7). The significance of this article to understanding how oppressive practices towards women are embedded in men’s sport was not recognised for many years (Birrell, 1988). Then followed Lois Bryson’s (1983) ‘Sport and the Oppression of Women’, which focused on the rituals surrounding men’s sport. Bryson saw these as reinforcing male dominance in two ways: “First, they link maleness with highly valued and visible skills; and second, they link maleness with the positively sanctioned use of aggression/force/violence” (1983: 431). Bryson described how the practises of ignoring and trivialising women’s sport serve to devalue women’s achievements and therefore maintain the belief in women’s inferiority.* Alongside the hegemonic form of masculinity associated with men s sport, this supports the'concept o f male dom inance and female subordination because men are therefore seen as ‘naturally’ more powerful and superior (Bryson, 1987).

B irre ll'(1988: 483) argued that American sport developed in the late nineteenth century “in a social context dominated by tensions surrounding changed gender relations”, which'included women’s greater demand for and gains in equality. The resulting ‘crisis in masculinity’ meant that sport was claimed as mafe territory, producing myths of male dominance to restore masculine hegemony. Her thesis is reflected in the title of Mariah Burton Nelson’s (1996) book, ‘ThdStronger Women Get, The More Men Love Football'.

In Hall’s.,(1993) review of gender and sport she pointed out, “The reaction

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of male scholars to feminist theory ranges from ignoring it, to recognising it exists but not reading it, to utilising it in their work, to actively contributing to it” (Hall, 1993: 60). Those who have actively contributed include men whose work has helped expose the relationship between masculinity and gender-power relations in sport. There is now a large body of work which explores the many dimensions of this theme, including the recognition of marginalised and subordinated masculinities, the oppression of Gays and Blacks, violence, and other stated problems of masculinity within sport (Connell, 1995; Kaufman, 1987; McKay, Sabo & Messner,1999; Messner, 1992; Messner & Sabo, 1994; Pronger,1990). These analyses haveieen most valuable when they “go beyond merely investigating the male experience in sport and examine how male hegemony reproduces unequal gender relations” (Hall, 1996: 45), such as Tim Curry’s (1991) study of male bonding in sport locker rooms, and the sexism and hdmophob'ia learned within those settings.

In her recent analysis, Varda Burstyn (1999) argues that the ‘hyper-masculine heroic ideal’ is gaining in prominence in capitalist culture, and that this is modelled and moulded by sport. While sport culture is highly varied, there is one singular purpose and effect that cuts across class, race, ethnic and national differences: “the culture of sport has supported the greater power of men as a gender-class in the key economic, political, and military power apparatus of civil and state society” (Burstyn, 1999: 252).

Because of how this situates women, it has long been a feminist motive to critique and look for ways to change the associations between sport and male power. As has already been mentioned, bringing about such change is difficult. One area of hope has been the increased involvement of women in sport, but the question remains whether this will, in fact, lead to major shifts in the power base in sport and broader gender relations. Scraton et al. (1999) concluded that, despite the recentgrowth in women’s soccer, there is little evidence to suggest that this has presented a serious threat to the gender order. In their study of windsurfing, Wheaton and Tomlinson-(1998) hypothesised that more egalitarian practises may have developed in this ‘new’, non-traditional, non-team sport. Instead, they found that elite women windsurfers “work within, rather than subvert, traditional patterns of gendered domination” (1998: 270), attesting to the persisting patriarchal hegemony.

There are documented examples of cases where women have retained control of their own sporting experiences, sometimes deliberately subverting the ideologies and practices of the dominant male model (Birrell & Richter, 1987, Hargreaves, 1996; Nauright & Broomhall, 1994). The debate has long raged about whether it is better for women’s sport to be separate from or integrated, within male controlled structures. As dominant sport practises become more

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globally and commercially driven, however, the opportunities and rewards for women in sport become more tied to and reliant on male dominated structures. Feminists, therefore, struggle to be optimistic about the possibility of achieving significant changes to gender relations either within or through sport.

Women, Sport and the Media

From early on, feminist sociologists of sport were alerted to how negatively the mass media represented women athletes, and how these forms of representation undermined the promotion of women’s sporting events or sportswomen as legitimate athletes. Initially, the concern was with the volume of media coverage, noting how little attention was being paid to women’s sport in comparison with men’s. From a liberal standpoint, feminists lobbied to increase the media profile of sportswomen, to give equal recognition to their achievements. It was argued that this would lead to greater rewards for sportswomen and heighten their visibility as potential role models to promote increased female participation in physical activity.

M edia content analysis studies have been done in various countries, investigating numerous media (Brown, 1994; Klein, 1988; McGregor & Fountaine, 1997; McKay & Huber, 1992; Toohey, 1997). All have consistently shown large disparities in the amount of media attention given to women’s and men’s sport, with women’s being considerably smaller. This situation does not appear to be improving with time. On the contrary, there is evidence to suggest that in some regions, the proportion of coverage of women’s sport has decreased, as McGregor and Fountaine (1997) have shown of newspapers in New Zealand.

Feminist analysis of the media soon made it obvious, however, that the quantity of media attention given to women’s sport was not the only concern. An equally important issue was the form this coverage took, i.e., how were sportswomen being portrayed in the media? This question led to detailed analyses of photographs, texts and media production processes which showed that women athletes were not merely ignored but, when given visibility, were trivialised, denigrated, infantalised and sexualised. Studies of newspapers, television, magazines and calendars have consistently arrived at this conclusion (Creedon,-.1994; Davis, 1997; Duncan, 1990; Duncan et al., 1991; Lenskyj, 1998; Rintala & Birrell, 1984).

Mediated; sport has become a site where sexual differences are powerfully portrayed.and guarded, a process that relies strongly on images and texts that distance sportswomen as far as possible from sportsmen. Duncan and Messner

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(1998) summarise how the media’s treatment of sport emphasises gender differences and exaggerates the inequalities of male and female athletes. They see these differences being conveyed in many ways. For example, an initial form occurs through media production, such as the disparities in quantity and quality of coverage. This is coupled with the justification that inequalities are merely a reflection of audience-related demand and supply when, they state, “in actuality, television producers are not merely giving audiences what they want to see. Producers, in association with athletic organisations, actively build audiences for major events” (Duncan & Messner, 1998: 173). Second, language describing the play and attributes of athletes is used differently for men and women. This exaggerates gender differences and inequalities by emphasising binaries such as strength/weakness, success/failure. A third difference is what Duncan and Messner (1998) describe as the Isymbolic dominance’ of men and men’s sport, conveyed in a variety of ways. These include: asymmetrical gender marking, where the language used defines sport genetically as male and that played by women labelled as a deviation (e.g., ‘basketball’/ ‘women’s basketball’); hierarchies of naming, such as using titles and descriptions which infantalise sportswomen by referring to them as girls or by their first names, compared to references to sportsmen which accord them adult status; and the sexualisation of women’s sport, through emphases on the appearance of sportswomen, overt sexual depictions of them and pre-occupations with sexual identities and family relationships.

Kane and Lenskyj (1998: 188) point out, “Over the last two decades, sociologists of sport have convincingly demonstrated that media representations of women’s identities in sport link their athleticism to deeply held values regarding femininity and sexuality.” Media images and narratives impose normative expectations of female athletes which include traditional notions of femininity, (hetero)sexual appeal and conformity to roles as wives and mothers. As Pat Griffin (1992) suggested, the insistence that sportswomen conform to traditional notions of femininity is really an insistence that they be, or appear to be, heterosexual. Media portrayals, therefore, are primarily about the ‘image problem’ that pervades women’s sport: ‘T he underlying fear is not that a female athlete or coach will appear too plain or out of style; the real fear is that she will look like a dyke or, even worse, is one” (Griffin, 1992: 254).

Pamela Creedon’s work (1994,1998) has focused on media production. She suggests that even if gender equality in numbers is achieved in news journalism, little would likely change in how news is gathered and defined: “Entry-level employees adapt to work-place norms” and, in the media workplace, those norms “privilege a patriarchal world view” (Creedon, 1998: 93). Creedon cites, for example, the treatment of women sports news reporters within the industry

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in the USA, including cases of sexual harassment in sportsmen’s locker rooms. Creedon (1998:99) also discusses the implications for both liberal and radical

feminist reforms of the media, concluding that “the ultimate arbiter will be the market place” and “what sells”. Currently, she suggests, ‘little girls’, ‘sweethearts’ and ‘heroines’ sell women’s sport. Homosexuality does not sell, and there are mixed results regarding heterosexual appeal. For example, despite the increased television exposure of women’s beach volleyball, recognised for its sexual display, sponsorship revenue has not increased. On the other hand, “heterosexual sex appeal presented in terms of fitness sells very very well” (Creedon, 1998: 97).

Sporting Bodies

Regularly identified as the earliest critical analysis of women and sport, Paul Willis’s 1973 essay (published later in 1982), noted the “colossal social interest” in biological differences between women and men, when there are a myriad of other biologically-based differences between people about which there is little or no interest. Willis argued that this interest in physical gender difference, rather than gender similarities, took on an ideological ‘life of its own’, and the belief in such differences passed into ‘common sense’. Within sport, these beliefs fuelled “popular consciousness with its prejudices about femininity” (Willis, 1982:134).

Historical studies, such as those by Cahn (1990), Lenskyj (1986), McCrone (1988) and Vertinsky (1990) recorded how medical and scientific rhetoric about women’s bodies has been effectively used to discourage women’s participation in sport, by emphasising so-called limited physical capabilities and aspects of women’s reproductive capacity which was thought to need safe-guarding. Research from Britain showed how these perceptions of women’s physicality were translated into education, influencing the physical education curricula and girls’ experiences of embodiment (Fletcher, 1984; Scraton, 1992).

A recent focus on sporting bodies by feminist sociologists of sport arose from a new ‘corporeal feminism’ influenced in large part by the work of Michel Foucault, and feminists who took up his ideas about gendered and sexualised bodies, such as Bordo (1993) and Grosz (1994). This work and its significance to the sociology of sport are discussed in more depth elsewhere in this text (see Chapter 12). The point I wish to make here, however, is that the post- modern/post-structural perspective has been useful in allowing us to see how bodies are socially constructed through a variety of discourses, such as medical, scientific and sports-related. This has enabled us to get beyond debates about biologically determined difference and essentialism, providing a way to

120 Shona M. Thompson

understand how the body can be socially constructed sexually “without positing an original sexual difference or fixed biological essence” (McNay, cited in Hall, 1996:53).

Such work is based on the assumption that women are neither powerless victims of oppressive discourses nor entirely free from structural constraints. Analyses from this perspective have, therefore, been able to recognise the contradictory ways in which the body is lived, and how women’s involvement in sport can unsettle and disrupt common sense understandings of female bodies. For example, Pirkko Markula’s (1995) ethnographic research with female aerobicisers highlighted how these women experienced pleasure from movement and energy while simultaneously struggling to conform to societal constructions of the ideal body, which is itself contradictorily empowered and sexualised. Obel’s (1996) analysis of women bodybuilders discusses how these women transgress the normative ideal of fem ininity by demonstrating muscularity and strength yet, in competition, are judged according to feminine ideals. Cox and Thompson (2000) focus on the m ultiplicity of bodily constructions to understand how women soccer players appear to move seamlessly between social situations that have contrasting expectations of female bodily practices, such as presenting strong, competent physicallty on the sport field and ‘heterosexy’ femininity at meetings with sponsors. Analyses, such as Mikosza and Phillips’ (1999) of the Australian ‘Golden Girls’ calendar, and the controversies which surround such publications, highlight the tensions between women’s physicallty expressed through sport and the sexualisation of women’s bodies.

In 1987, Nancy Theberge advocated the liberating potential of sport, allowing women the opportunity to defy restrictive notions of feminine embodiment, to experience creative energy and develop strength, power and physical confidence. Many more women are now experiencing this. Feminist analysis of the ways the athletic female body is socially constructed have contributed to destabilising perceptions of sport that have been “trapped in ideologies” (Willis, 1982), of gendered body differences, helping to undermine the power differentials such ideologies have attempted to maintain. They have also made an important contribution to a growing volume of literature about women’s corporeality (e.g., Brackenridge, 1993).

Conclusion

The significance of the sociological study of sport to wider feminist agendas has not been fully appreciated, either in terms of the ways in which sport has

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subordinated women through its symbolic representation of masculine power, nor in its potential as a site for understanding the social construction of femininity and challenging notions of female weakness. Well recognised now, however, is that sport cannot be theorised without taking gender into account. From this point of view, it would not be overstating the case to say that, over the past twenty years, feminism has had a profound impact on the sociology of sport.

Those of us who have witnessed the progress of feminist scholarship have seen the ways that it has evolved, shifted, changed its focus and approach (Beasley, 1999; Hall, 1996). However, it has not gone away and for many reasons is as important and necessary as ever. There is no evidence to conclude that the agenda of feminism, to make this an equitable and safe world for all women to inhabit, has been completed.

While some women do have opportunities in sport and physical activity that were not readily available several decades ago, there are still huge problems within the institution. For example, recent research has focused on the extent and nature of abuse and sexual harassment in sport (Brackenridge, 1997; Brackenridge & Kirby, 1997; Lenskyj, 1992; MacGregor, 1998). Young, physically active feminists can clearly articulate the experience of struggling to retain a sense of their own em pow erm ent under the hefty w eight of com m ercialism (Valdes, 1995), and the struggles of m arginal groups disadvantaged in or oppressed by sport are still rarely heard.

Mary McDonald (2000), who recently analysed the corporate-driven women’s sport ‘boom’ in the US, highlighted how this is both derived from, and in turn creates, strong post-feminist assumptions that women can now ‘have it all’'through the opportunities made available by enhanced consumerism and vigorous individualism. Aligned with this is the belief that those women who fail.to gain it ‘all’ have only themselves to blame, which “(marginalises) any ‘radical’ focus on sexual politics and (refuses) to acknowledge the continuing power differentials that remain” (McDonald, 2000: 36). If sport is to be available, liberating and rewarding for all, not just for some, sociological analysis and advocacy still needs a clearly and proudly identified feminist agenda in response to growing post-feminism.

References

Beasley, C. (1999). What is Feminism, Anyway? St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. Birrell, S. (1984). ‘Studying gender in sport: A feminist perspective’. In: N. Theberge,

and P. Donnelly (eds), Sport and the Sociological Imagination (pp. 125-135). Fort Worth: Texan Christian University Press.

Chapter 13

F em inist and F igurational Sociology: D ialogue and P oten tial Synthesis

L ouise M ansfield

This chapter draws on feminist and figurational ( ‘Process’) sociology in order to promote a more informed dialogue between the two. Offering a preliminary synthesis, the chapter is designed as a way of making sense of the sports and exercise experiences of women' and of furthering an understanding of sport, exercise and gender relations. What is on offer is not a ‘feminist-informed’ figurational sociology, although it might represent a step in that direction. Rather, the aim is to examine the'overlapping themes, issues and concepts of both feminism and figurational sociology that would underpin a feminist figurational approach. This approach can enhance the present state of knowledge in theoretical and empirical investigations of gender relations in ‘sporting’ spheres.

The ideas contained in this chapter will no doubt challenge those guardians of feminist and figurational sociology who adhere to a fairly rigid view of social theory and doctrinal purity. Yet, I do not claim to have all the answers to complex questions about sport, gender and society. Further empirical research and refinement of the theoretical proposals are needed. To this end, both the strengths and weaknesses of a feminist figurational approach are highlighted using investigations of physically active women as a case study.^

‘The term ‘women’ is not meant to portray females as a homogeneous whole. My comments reflect particular women with whom I have spoken during fieldwork encounters. Their experiences, actions and emotions are both similar to and different from other women in my studies. These women reflect a range o f socio-cultural backgrounds. For "further information about some of them, see Mansfield and Maguire (1999). To protect the idfentities of respondents, pseudonyms are used. ^The examples are drawn from interview and observed evidence during the course o f my own fieldwork with females involved in sport and exercise.

Theory, Sport & Society Copyright © 2002 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. ISBN: 0-7623-0742-0

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Developments in Feminist and Figurational Sociology

Feminism

Contemporary Western feminism grew out of the women’s movement of the 1960s which was politically oriented towards women’s liberation and equality (Beasley, 1999; Hargreaves, 1994; Scraton, 1992; Sharpe, 1994; Kemp & Squires, 1997). Feminist research continues to form the core of a great deal of scholarly activity in mainstream sociology and the sociology of sport, and attracts much attention in everyday discourse. Yet, taken-for-granted assumptions about what is meant by ‘Feminism’ and ‘Feminist’ have created confusion about these terms; it is not always clear wha( is meant when they are used. As indicated in Chapter 5, defining the term ‘Feminism’ is problematic and controversial. Arguably, feminist analyses of sport should be thought of as encompassing a complexity of approaches, positions and strategies that are both temporally and culturally grounded.

In terms of extant feminist literature in the sociology of sport, three key characteristics can be identified. Firstly, feminist research represents a departure from a traditional sociological focus on men’s experiences. On this basis, feminism is characterised by critical explorations of and challenges to traditional notions of women as inferior and subordinate to men. Secondly, feminism places the experiences of women as central to an understanding of gender relations. The focus of attention is on female subjectivity and reflexivity, such as on the development of women’s notions of self identity in sport and exercise practices. Thirdly, feminist theorising is grounded in evidence and practice, and politically committed to transforming dominant patterns of gender inequality in sport and the broader social sphere.

Figurational ( ‘Process’) Sociology

The genesis of figurational sociology lies in the extensive writings of Norbert Elias (Elias, 1978, 1983, 1987,1994,1996) (see Chapter 9). Elias’ theories and concepts of the history of the emotions, identity construction, the body, violence and state formation have been utilised by several researchers in relation to a diversity of topics and disciplines within sociology and the sociology of sport.^

’For examples of in-depth ‘Process' sociological investigations into sport, see Dunning (1999); Dunning and Maguire (1996); Dunning and Rojek (1992); Dunning and Sheard (1973); Dunning, Maguire, and Pearton (1993); Elias and Dunning (1986); Maguire (1999); and Waddington (2000).

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One of the main characteristics of figurational sociology is its emphasis on the dynamic and relational character of social life. The focus is on studying intended and unintended social processes over time so as to further an understanding of the networks of human interdependence in social contexts. This focus dovetails well with a theme that underlines a great deal of feminist thinking. As Hargreaves (1992) explains, to understand the oppression of women we must “confront actual, existing social situations and historical processes which have produced current gender inequalities and constraints in leisure and sport” (1992:166). One of the hallmarks of a feminist figurational approach, then, is the extent to which gender power relations are understood as structured processes located in time and space.

In what follows, I elaborate on the overlapping principles and concerns within feminism and figurational sociology. The ways in which each perspective can fruitfully draw on the other in understanding gender relations in sport, exercise and wider social life are highlighted. Some of my own research findings on women’s experiences of sport and exercise are used to illustrate the arguments presented (Maguire & Mansfield, 1998; Mansfield & Maguire, 1999).

A Preliminary Synthesis

The work of Elias is increasingly being applied to a wide range of debates in the sociology of sport (Dunning, 1986,1999; Dunning & Maguire, 1996; Mansfield & Maguire, 1999; Maguire, 1999; Waddington, 2000). Apart from Jennifer Hargreaves’ (1992) critique of figurational sociology, feminist references to Elias have been sparse and few analyses of his work have been made from a ‘gender conscious’ perspective (van Krieken, 1998). Yet, it is not the case that the present state of knowledge about gender relations, in either feminism or figurational sociology, has reached the end point of theoretical or empirical development. Each has something to offer the other in this regard, as a modest literature has begun to demonstrate.

For example, a concern for gender relations has, arguably, been an important aspect of some figurational work since the 1970s (Dunning & Sheard, 1973; Maguire, 1986). While these studies have focused on men’s experiences of sport at the expense of women’s, more recent literature has highlighted the fact that changing relations between the sexes represent a key area for sociological investigation (Dunning, 1986; Dunning & Maguire, 1996; Dunning, 1999). In addition, one of North America’s leading feminist scholars (Birrell, 1988) notes the relevance of the early contributions of Dunning and Sheard (1973) to feminist research.

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Researchers working with figurational sociology have begun to broaden their focus of investigation and explore issues of women in sport, albeit in a preliminary way (Dunning, 1986,1999; Maguire, 1999). Female scholars from mainstream sociology have also made positive reference to the work of Elias (Lupton, 1996; Tseelon, 1995). It is my contention that those who study sport and gender relations could fruitfully develop these explorations.

Thinking about women’s sporting experiences, rituals and practices in relation to aspects of feminism and figurational sociology may shed further light on the gendered nature of social life. Drawing on Bourdieu, Jarvie and Maguire (1994) observed that competing theoretical perspectives see differently due to the conceptual -ground they occupy. In Bourdieu’s words, “every sociologist would do well to listen to his/her adversaries as it is in their interest to see what he/she cannot see, to observe the limits of his [sic] vision, which by definition are invisible to him [sic]”(1990: 36).

Feminist and Figurational Sociology: Sport and Gender Relations

There are at least four main ways that we can begin to understand questions of gender relations using a feminist figurational analysis of sports practices. Firstly, we can use this framework to develop an understanding of the relative empowerment of females in the ‘male preserve’'* of sport, and the extent to which they might challenge and change existing male-dominated organisations and values. The critical investigation of and challenge to the dominance of males and masculine ideology lie at the heart of feminist scholarship. Using a ‘Process’ sociological approach to the analysis of gender power relations may help to unravel these complexities.

In this regard, the following figurational understandings of power are pertinent: (1) power is relational in that no individual woman or man, or group of women or men, has total control over another in particular social settings. Rather, people hold more or less power in relation to others; (2) power networks are dynamic in that they shift and change in a fluid set of human relations; and (3) power is thought of as multi-dimensional. That is, it is possible to define, several interconnected dimensions of power, including economic, political,- cultural and, for the purposes of this analysis, gender.

^The term ‘male preserve’ is used by authors studying sport and gender relations from several perspectives. It denotes those social institutions honoured, demarcated, and dominated both organisationally and ideologically by males.

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Reflecting gender power relations in a wider social context, sport and exercise settings are marked by inequality in which the balance of power has predominantly rested with ‘established’ men. Through long-term processes, specific male/masculine traditions and values have become'dominant, at least in Western societies, and these are reproduced in the ‘mal6 preserve’ of sport (Dunning, 1986; Hargreaves, 1994). Since the rise of nfodern sport, women have, in the main, been afforded an inferior status in sports practices. As Hargreaves (1994) explains, a dominant bourgeois ideology, centring upon the biological functions of women, has been effective in sustaining long-term, unequal gender relations.

Of course, established beliefs and values are never static. Gender relations represent a network of processes that constantly undergo challenge and transformation. At any time, for example, established notions of femininity co­ exist with emergent and residual notions of what ‘feminine’ means to various groups. There are many social spheres that provide particular women with the opportunity to act back upon, or resist, dominant power structures. Indeed, research has shown several ways in which some active women have the potential to resist traditional ideals of femininity (Bhnel, 1991; Miller & Penz, 1991; St. Martin & Gavey, 1996; Obel, 1996). In addition, it is also the case that some women are involved in the process of subordinating other women in specific sporting spheres (Maguire & Mansfield, 1998). In this regard, the figurational concept of ‘established-outsider relations’ is a useful aid in explaining the balance of gender power between dominant and non-dominant groups, including both women and men. These ideas are explored below.

Secondly, we can investigate the motivations, meanings and significance of sport and exercise for women, and the impact of their involvement on the construction of their sense of self identity. This central theme of feminist research is something that figurational sociologists could, more extensively, examine, since it is both women’s and men’s experiences of sport and exercise that impact on the social and sociological significance of sport. On this basis, there are connections to be made between the central figurational theory of civilising processes, and the development of unequal gender relations. Issues of sport and gender in the civilising process are discussed later in this chapter.

Thirdly, ‘doing’ feminist-figurational work shoilld focus on the active role that women have to play in interpreting their experiences in the ‘sporting’ arena. Encouraging women to speak for themselves about sport and exercise is a focal point of ‘doing’ feminist research. While figurational sociologists may have begun to highlight gender issues in their work, it is not the case that the subjective experiences of females have been adequately explored. I would advocate an approach that emphasises the importance of women’s sentiments.

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thoughts and emotions; one which hears their private voices, and allows them a more public place to speak.

Central to this feminist methodological point is the figurational idea of ‘involvement and detachment’ (Elias, 1987). Social researchers cannot escape being involved with their subjects and the research context if they want to understand the pattern of human relations that they wish to study. As a sports woman, participating with and studying other active women, I am necessarily involved with Aem. Yet, a balance between involvement and detachment can, from a figurational viewpoint, allow further insights into the pattern and dynamics of people’s interactions. In the case of my own research, adopting, as Elias (1987)explains, a ‘detour via detachment’, means being simultaneously, but in varying degrees, close to and distant from the women and the social- context under investigation. Developing research methods that interweave female dialogue with observations of women’s particular sport practices in an historical, developmental and critical analysis, would be a key feature of feminist figurational work.

Fourthly, a feminist figurational approach is shaped by feminism’s political commitment to identifying the diverse social encounters and conditions of. women and transforming unequal gender relations. Seeking to increase our fund of knowledge about networks of gender power in sport settings should be combined with a commitment to facilitate social change. If this approach can indeed illuminate resistant sporting practices, structures, and ideologies in terms of what actions and emotions count as ‘feminine/female’, it should, in my view,' also be concerned with sharing and disseminating the knowledge generated in ways that assist the transformation of gender inequalities.

Key Concepts in the Application of a Feminist Figurational Approach

The Figuration

Arguably, analysing women’s physically active experiences using the proposed perspective requires a focus on the concept of ‘figuration’. That is, women’s participation in any game such as netball, hockey, soccer, rugby, and basketball or their involvement in activities like aerobics, circuit training and weight training, takes place within sport and exercise figurations. As a key analytical tool of process sociology, this concept allows us to understand social life in terms of a network of interdependent, mutually-oriented people. To clarify this idea, I refer to my research on women’s experiences of aerobics.

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Elias’ (1978, 1994) work explains that human beings are bonded, in both enabling and constraining ways, to the social relations they form between each other in any social setting. In this sense, the aerobics class represents an exercise figuration in micro context, but one that is located within a wider network of social relationships. Participants’ interact with each other in face-to-face contact, but they are also interdependently influenced by such institutions as education, the family, the media, diet and health technologies, sport sciences and the fitness industry. For example, the women I observed formed ‘cliques’ within the aerobics studio. They physically gravitated towards other participants, or the instructor, by communicating verbally and acknowledging people with spoken words, body language and gestures in a ‘reciprocal exchange’ of signs and symbols (Maguire, 1995). One could almost see them forming a dynamic figuration of bodies (Elias & Dunning, 1986).

Active in defining their sense of self identity, many of my respondents experienced liberating feelings of increased self confidence and emotional release in and through aerobics. Yet this exercise figuration is by no means isolated from the broader social, economic, and political context. For instance, intensely aware of their own bodies, and those of others in the aerobics setting and in their broader lived experience, these women predominantly shaped their bodies and their sense of self in relation to established codes of (hetero)sexual feminine beauty. They expressed aspirations to achieve a slim, toned ‘look’, identified by them as feminine. Wider commercialisation processes were at work in perpetuating established and socially acceptable ideals of femininity. ‘Established’ bodies, for example, revealed their lean, tanned and toned skin, in tight lycra clothing ‘branded’ with Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and other such seals of approval.

Whatever the characteristics of these direct and indirect bonds, they are not fixed or static. Rather, they are fluid and change in connection with the many and varied relationships that these women have with other women in the aerobics class, and women and men in a broader cultural context. These ‘interdependencies’’ change in relation to shifting balances of power between individuals and groups within any figuration. Simply put, people live out their lives in an interwoven network of relationships, which are historically developed and marked by both the enabling and constraining characteristics of the gender power balances. In the aerobics figuration, women form interdependencies with

’While men also participate in aerobic exercise classes, it is the case that women dominate this type of activity; it remains widely viewed as a ‘woman’s preserve’. *The term ‘interdependencies’ is used in figurational sociology to denote the human bonds that develop within figurational networks (Elias, 1978).

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others in a multitude of complex and dynamic ways that reflect both personal and public social processes.

In the next section, I draw on figurational sociology’s theory of established- outsider relations, and identify a specific power dynamic at work in the micro context of aerobics, which impacts upon the relationships between ‘established’ and ‘outsider’ participants. In addition, I suggest that there are broader established-outsider relations at work between and within groups of women and men in society which are reflected in the thoughts, actions and emotions of the female aerobicisers. The examples seek to illustrate that the notion of figurational power dynamics can be a useful aid in feminist interpretations of women’s sport and exercise experiences.

Established-Outsider Relations

‘Established-outsider theory’ is a central component of figurational sociology and was derived from a study of two neighbourhoods in the English East Midlands (Elias & Scotson, 1994; Mennell, 1992). Focusing on power balances between dominant and non-dominant groups, this approach has considerable potential where the study of gender power dynamics is concerned. Examining women’s actions and emotions in sport and exercise, it is evident that while some women hold an inferior status in relation to other women and men, greater power chances are afforded to particular groups of active women. ‘Established’ women are relatively empowered in the aerobics context, for example, through access to exercise knowledge, increased fitness, and the ownership of ‘appropriate’ bodies. These characteristics often serve to differentiate higher status women from lower status women in the exercise setting.

Though it may not be generalisable to other exercise contexts, my fieldwork suggests that an established clique tends to dominate the space around the aerobics instructor, excluding ‘outsiders’ from seeing the routines effectively and, thus, hindering their mastery of movement patterns. Indeed, the degree of ‘fitness’ and competence in performing the exercise routines also helped to- maintain the central status of particular women. A distinct type of status rivalry existed between these women in their quest for the ‘body beautiful’. They competed against their ‘opponents’ without using force, but clearly gauged their levels of fitness, expertise, and appearance, in relation to other performers. This was highlighted by Ruth who explained, “I do try to emulate people who have good technique. I think if they are going well and jumping a bit higher, then I ’ll keep going.” Commenting on processes of self and other surveillance, Claire “always notice[d] what other people look like. They look better than me.”

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Sarah echoed this sentiment when she exclaimed, “There are one or two women who come down here who look absolutely fabulous. I don’t know how they do it!”

Jt was evident that ‘established’ women embodied societal values of thinness, and torie, which ‘outsider’ women desired. Setting the standards of appearance, ‘established’ women wore clothing that revealed their skin surface, and drew attention to themselves, by adorning their bodies with jewellery and make-up. At the front of the class, a ‘chorus line’ of tanned, toned bodies performed knowingly for the viewing of ‘outsiders’. In contrast, ‘insider’ women in no way considered their bodies to be complete. They engaged in continual bodywork in order to maintain their appearance. For example, Beth reinforced this idea when she explained her intention to remain slim. Indeed, she echoed the sentiments of all of the ‘insider’ women I talked to by emphasising her goals thus: “I saw (sic) exercise as making me look good. I am nine stone now. My goal is eight and a half stone. Then I won’t haye any flesh/fat on me. I just want to stay lean”.

D isplaying desirable standards of bodily appearance, ‘established’ participants were also knowledgeable about the routines, exercises and the music associated with the aerobics class. At every session they showed familiarity with the music, and shouted, cheered and clapped enthusiastically as they performed. They incorporated an energetic and vocal dominant group charisma (Mennell, 1992). In this sense, a ‘We’ image tended to be developed and Internalised by ‘established’ group members, and a ‘They’ image was constructed and more commonly embodied in relation to ‘outsider’ participants. It is important to re-emphasise here that the power networks which characterise insider-outsider relations are not absolute or static. Rather, they are relational and subject to change. ‘Outsiders’ were active in achieving the bodily standards of the established group by watching, listening to and talking with those ‘who know’. Dominant group members had all, in varying ways and to differing degrees, experienced the intimidation and discomfort of being ‘outsiders’. On this basis, they demonstrated some understanding toward the needs of less powerful participants.

Nevertheless, women who performed in the ‘outsider’ group, more often than those who participated in the ‘insider’ group, expressed internalised feelings of inferiority and embarrassment; they realised how great the gap was between their current appearance and performance levels, and the demanding ideals they faced within the exercise context. The sense of discomfort in non-dominant participants was summed up by Wendy who, when questioned on this matter, shook her head and whispered, “I can’t see myself in any of those leotards. I just haven’t got the body for it”. Wendy, like other ‘outsiders’, had not, as yet.

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acquired competency in the movement patterns of the class and, hence, was too timid to move to the front. She remained, perhaps temporarily, part of the ‘outsider’ group.

These brief fieldwork episodes illustrate some aspects of the power dynamics that characterise the exercise figuration in question. Yet, the women who participated in this type of exercise were not isolated human beings. Their exercise experiences were interconnected with the way in which they lived out other parts of their lives. ‘Higher status’ women tend to hold a relatively privileged position in the aerobics dance studio. In more recent research, this is also the case in other fitness settings such as the gym, or the swimming pool. In addition, the achievement of the ‘body beautiful’ is commonly revered by women, and men, and socially approved by the images and messages of dominant institutions such as the media, the sport sciences, and the fitness industry.

Exploring established-outside,r relations more broadly, it seems to be the case, in Western culture at least, that gendered ideology and action manipulates many women into the ‘They’ image of those women and men committed to traditional notions of socially acceptable femininity. The latter tend to hold a more favourable ‘We’ image and perpetuate established notions of what constitutes ‘femininity’. It should be re-emphasised that such gender processes are not static. Balances of power are marked by negotiation, resistance and change. However, there is little evidence of resistant practices in activities such as commercial aerobics. I would argue that traditional pressures to discipline, control and ultimately ‘correct’ the female body are evident in the organisation and ideologies of such regimes. This can detract from the emancipatory potential of participating in this type of exercise. The power inequalities at work in the micro context of sport and exercise, and in the wider social sphere, impact on the ways that women come to live in female/feminine ways. My respondents seem to have developed, and internalised, particular gendered identities in the context of aerobic exercise. The following section draws on the concept of habitus to shed light on the development and characteristics of ‘female/feminine’ identities.

Gender Identity and Habitus Codes

Several authors have used the concept of ‘habitus’ in explaining issues of identity construction (Bourdieu, 1978; Dunning, 1999, Elias, 1978, 1939/1994,1996;, Maguire, 1993b,1999; Mauss, 1973; van Krieken, 1998). Drawing on Elias’ use of the concept, a figurational perspective argues that a person’s habitus is

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characterised by the enduring dispositions that are laid down deep within us through ongoing socialisation processes (Elias, 1996). For example, throughout the life course, established ideals of gender are internalised within human beings as part of their ‘second nature’.

Specific, enduring and socially acceptable characteristics of femininity and masculinity can be identified in people’s actions and emotions in social contexts. With respect to ‘female/feminine’ habituses and sport settings, traditional ideas continue to reinforce the notion that grace, poise, a passive demeanour, and a coring attitude are preferable female traits. A feminine ‘look’ is associated with being slim and petite, with curves in the ‘right’ places. Girls tend to be directed away from sports and exercise that require strength, power, aggression, and muscularity. Of course, it is also the case that women are involved in some countries, indeed in rapidly growing numbers, in physical activities such as football, rugby, and weight training, which have historically been considered as male preserves (Hargreaves, 1994; Henry & Comeaux, 1999; Scraton et a i, 1999; Wright & Clarke, 1999). This is certainly a challenge to established gender codes. Yet, at the level of habitus, established notions of feminine beauty prevail.

Aerobics, for example, is one social dimension through which the women I have observed and interviewed develop and internalise deeply layered and symbolic notions of traditional femininity. These ideals of feminine beauty are evident in common characteristics of appearance, bodily deportment, gestures, actions and emotions. Performance routines in aerobics are organised in a strict, precise fashion according to dominant ideas about what type and intensity of exercise will ensure fat loss and improved muscle tone. These women are encouraged that continual rhythmic exercise will help them achieve a slimmer form. The toning exercises focus upon isolated body parts that, in a sense, define women’s ‘hetero-sex’ appeal. In aerobics, much time is invested in ‘working on’ the thighs, bottom, stomach and breasts in order to tighten, tone and reduce. In my own fieldwork, it has been clear that the women who have spoken to me consciously shape their bodies according to (Western) societal values of feminine beauty.

Apparently, many women view physical activity as a means of reducing the size and changing the shape of their bodies in pursuit of the ‘body beautiful’. In this regard, they have a particular dislike of fat. This was highlighted by Penny, who expressed her intense distaste for many aspects of her body in the following way:

Ultimately, I do exercise for weight reasons. I hate my legs and my bum and my arms because they are fat! I go to the gym every

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day, I wouldn’t want to stop. I want to come out of a class and feel that I’ve worked [out] and burned fat. If I was really thin, I don’t think I’d go at all.

I would argue here that strongly built, muscular and aggressive women are still not 'de rigueur’ in sport, exercise, or the wider society. Images of young, sleek, lithe women, such as tennis player, Anna Kournikova, or beach volleyball professional, Gabrielle Reese, are the preferred images of media and advertising material, and are part of the taken-for-granted picture of feminine heterosexuality that many women and men accept.

The women I have spoken with are not always consciously aware of the female/feminine habituses I have described. Yet, these enduring features of gender are central to their embodied experiences, and are a focal point of common beliefs about women and gender power relations. Everyday behaviours and experiences like exercise, dieting and beauty treatments, for example, become so familiar that the women in my studies consider them to be ‘natural’, normal’ and rational aspects of being ‘female/feminine’.

I do not wish to imply that habitus codes are fixed and unchallenged. There is no genetically coded ‘female/feminine’ habitus. Women and men play an active role in the pattern and meaning of social relations, and the construction of their gendered identities. My respondents reinforced and challenged feminine habitus codes, in varying degrees and in terms of the meaning they attached to the techniques, practices and ideologies of aerobics. Yet, traditional notions of what constitutes socially acceptable femininity (Hargreaves, 1994; Scraton, 1992; Willis, 1994) still dominate these women’s lives and are revealed in their bodily size, shape, volume, postures, gestures, and expressions. This leads me to conclude that ‘female/feminine’ habitus are characterised by the desire to be slender, slim, lean and toned, and to exhibit graceful, controlled bodily movement.

Feminine identities are developed and inscribed upon women’s ‘sporting’ bodies in complex, shifting and dynamic ways. In this sense, gendered identity-construction is also a feature of wider, long-term social development. A pivotal concept of figurational sociology, that of the ‘civilising process’, is especially helpful in understanding such long-term social development of gender power relations.

Gender, Civilised Bodies and Civilising Processes

Though it has been rarely acknowledged in the literature, the body is central to the figurational perspective (Maguire, 1993a; Shilling, 1993). Elias argues that the historical development towards more controlled behavioural and emotional

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acts involves wide and diverse changes in standards of conduct for human bodies at individual and societal levels. Taking a long-term developmental view, he emphasises that human beings learn to control their bodily appearance, actions, and emotions according to changing social environments. ‘Civilised’ bodies, at least in contemporary Western societies, are characterised by internal pacification, rationalisation, self-restraint, and regulation, learned through processes of human interaction.

I suggest that these historical transformations are indicative of gendered civilising processes. Social codes and sanctions with respect to what constitutes acceptable female/feminine looks and demeanour, for example, are learned, internalised, and become self-imposed. Sport and exercise contexts show evidence of such gendered civilising processes at work. Shilling’s (1993) account of civilised Western bodies makes it readily apparent that female bodies are socially managed. They are ‘civilised’ in accordance with established ideals of feminine beauty. In the micro context of aerobics, for example, feminine bodies are shaped by processes of self and other forms of monitoring. These sflf- and other-surveillance tactics extend to wider socio-cultural experiences, images, and ideologies, both past and present. ‘Civilised’ female bodies, in the case of aerobics, are symbolised by a rationalised command of the techniques, practices and rituals of exercise, and by an established bodily appearance (Shilling, 1993, 1997). The dominant aspiration of the women in my studies is to be slim and toned. This ‘look’ is revered within the aerobics context and wider society, and is status-enhancing. Achieving the ‘body beautiful’ is associated with the desire for bodily control, discipline and heterosexual feminine beauty.

This ‘look’ may well represent the enhanced social liberation of some women in contemporary societies, which is evident in personal feelings of self confidence, and in the admiration from others. Yet{ it also masks a more private discrimination. Some of the women I spoke to were publicly empowered through the achievement of the ‘body beautiful’, perceived by them to be liberating on a number of fronts. Yet, these same women privately feared that their bodies might not measure up to acceptable standards. One aerobiciser, Sarah, had much to say on this issue: “. . . women are under so much pressure to conform to a fashionable shape. It’s difficult to maintain, it’s a constant battle. There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think about it. I feel guilty when I don’t do my stomach exercises and it becomes deeply ingrained”.

Both ‘established’ and ‘outsider’ women had come to know what shape, size and weight counted as feminine and ‘attractive’. It seems that these women internalised and adhered to a set of rules, individually contoured, yet pertaining to socially acceptable notions of contemporary feminine beauty. Feelings of

shame, embarrassment and repugnance were expressed when these women did not successfully control the shape and tone of their bodies.

Regarding the relative subordination of women in sport and the wider society, the theory of civilising processes and, in particular, the ideas which pertain to violence control, may enhance an understanding of long-term, changing relations of power between the sexes. Proponents of figurational sociology would argue that there is evidence of long-term controls and taboos regarding the practise and observation of violent acts. On this basis, social and psychological sanctions have developed in contemporary Western societies that mean it is decreasingly acceptable for males to use violence against women. Yet, the domination and subordination of some women clearly exists in many social settings, inclbding sport. Sometimes, this process is explicit and sometimes it is ‘pushed behind the scenes’ (Dunning, 1992, 1999), such as in specific coaching ‘practices’ and training regimes (Brackenridge, 1997; Nelson, 1994).

If sport does indeed remain as one legitimate sphere for the expression of masculine aggression and violence (Dunning, 1999), then the theory of civilising processes may explain why sexual assault and verbal vilification of women by male athletes is evident in some sport subcultures (Brackenridge, 1997; Nelson, 1994). The theory may clarify the ways in which traditionally male institutions, such as sport, serve as ‘masculinity-validating’ experiences (Dunning, 1999). That some arenas of sport represent havens for the expression of masculine dominance and the (re)production of traditionally male/masculine habituses, may help to explain why the numbers of women in positions of power in some sports has not increased proportionally with participation rates, and why women’s performances continue to be marginalised and trivialised by powerful institutions such as the media (Creedon, 1994; Hargreaves, 1994; Dunning, 1999). It is this evidence which leads me to re-emphasise that in and through sport and exercise, and in their lived encounters, the women in my studies have undergone a gendered civilising process.

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Concluding Remarks

The principal aim of this chapter has been to outline a preliminary synthesis between feminism and figurational or ‘process’ sociology. This approach represents a vehicle for shedding light on issues of gender power relations in the context of sport and exercise. There are several overlapping themes in feminist and figurational sociology that underline the need for such a synthesis. The central point of common ground is that both approaches emphasise the importance of

understanding the relational nature of social interaction through time and space. A feminist focus on female subjectivity and experience can add to the existing knowledge about the balance of power between the sexes, and between established and outsider women and men in specific figurations. In the context of women’s experiences of sport and exercise, this endeavour could fruitfully be fulfilled by drawing on figurational ideas about gender power relations, established outsider theory, notions of habitus and ‘lAVe’ images, and the theory of the ‘civilising process’.

A feminist commitment to challenging and transforming gender inequality must be central to this approach if we are to develop an understanding of the social and sociological significance of sport practices in the lives of both women and men. I emphasise that adding to our fund of knowledge about gender relations should be based on theoretically-informed empirical research. Given this, strong links should be developed between theory, evidence and political action if the proposed synthesis is to offer ways in which gender inequality within sporting spheres can be challenged in any meaningful way.

I do not suggest that a feminist figurational perspective can provide all the answers to complex questions about gender relations. It can, however, make a contribution. On this basis, I take Elias at his word and present this theoretical approach as symptomatic of a beginning in wider and growing investigations of women’s experiences of sport and exercise. I am aware that there are- defenders of both feminism and figurational sociology whose minds are closed to this inter-theoretical approach. Yet, it is arguably ‘un-Eliasian’ and even asociological to read either perspective as if it were the final word, and that collaborative ventures are not possible. This closed position represents an insufficiently ‘detached’ consideration of the relative benefits of a dialogue, and potential synthesis between feminism and figurational sociology. It seems to me that thinking in conjunction with, and in opposition to, both of these approaches has much to offer in understanding the ways in which female participation, opportunity, and experience in sport and exercise can be improved.

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