Game, Set and Match to Exclusive Masculinity: Men, body practices, sport and the making and remaking of hegemonic masculinity

Wellard, Ian (2004). Game, Set and Match to Exclusive Masculinity: Men, body practices, sport and the making and remaking of hegemonic masculinity. PhD thesis The Open University.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.ro.0000e88d

Abstract

There is a continued understanding of sport within contemporary western society that it is an activity in which some are more 'able' to take part than others. This assumption is often based upon unquestioned social constructions of gender, sexuality and the body. In this thesis sport is considered a significant site where hegemonic masculinities are made and remade. It also considers the potential significance of body practices as a central means through which these masculinities are formed. The arguments developed in this thesis are supported by research conducted among male participants of sports clubs (gay and straight) in the South East of England. Participant observation and interviews were employed in order to examine bodily and gendered performances on and off the sports field and were assessed in relation to the wider inequalities faced by various sections of society. Feminist research and the more recent branches of research found in sociology and cultural studies have highlighted the disadvantages experienced by women in general, but at the same time prevalent forms of what I term "exclusive masculinity' remain to an extent unchallenged, and this is particularly evident within sport. Exploring issues relating to the body, masculinities and sexuality creates the opportunity to consider whether the radical potential found in marginalized sports (in this case a gay tennis club) can provide a challenge to the exclusive practices prevalent in mainstream sport.