The Science Question in Feminism

Practical Reason On The Theory Of Action

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Inclusive masculinity: The changing nature of masculinities

This article uses a combination of Bourdieu's concept of habitus theory and an interactionist perspective to examine women's participation in the traditionally `man's world' of boxing. The two major aims of the study were to identify how women entered and stayed involved in boxing and the types of identities that they forged in the process. The data were collected via participant-observation and in-depth interviews with a sample of women boxers and their coaches. It was found that the women's entry into and continued involvement in boxing depends on both disposition and situation. It was also concluded that women boxers occupied an ambivalent position: on the one hand, by definition, they challenged the existing gender order; on the other hand, they also reinforced the status quo by displaying traditional modes of femininity. This tension was related to the modalities of boxers' practice (`hard' or `soft') and their social histories. In short, the process of identity-formation among women boxers was insep...

'Hard' women and 'soft' women. The social construction of identities among female boxers

This article offers reflection on the relationship between the researcher and the field of research, within the sport of men's boxing, which is strongly characterized by polarized oppositions: between winning and losing, success and failure, women and men and, perhaps most importantly for the researcher, `insiders' and `outsiders'. It is this interrelationship between `insiders' and `outsiders' and the embodiment, not only of the practitioners of the sport but also the embodied presence of the researcher, which is used here to explore methodological questions about the research process and debates about how the researcher is situated in relation to the research site, by addressing questions about ontological complicity that are implicated in the distinction between `hanging out' and `hanging about' at the gym and as part of the culture of boxing.

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Hanging out and hanging about Insider/outsider research in the sport of boxing

This article analyses the biographical and contextual elements favouring the involvement of female athletes playing high-level team sports in homosexual practices, a recurring issue in the sporting arena. The study takes place in the world of soccer, archetype in France — along with rugby— of a male-oriented, homophobic sociability that is unfavourable to feminization of the sport. Based on in-depth interviews and on a long observation period, this study contributes to the current scientific debate regarding the construction of identity, notably gender identity. It focuses in particular on Becker and Goffman's work on the process of normative construction. We first point out the role of female-team homosociability in the acquisition of knowledge that facilitates involvement in homosexual practices. Next, we discuss the biographical life routes — either circumstantial or relatively permanent — that tend to favour homosexuality.

Homosociability and Homosexuality: The Case of Soccer Played by Women

En faisant partager l'experience singuliere des footballeuses, boxeuses et femmes halterophiles de haut niveau, Christine Mennesson analyse les consequences de l'entree de femmes dans des mondes traditionnellement reserves aux hommes. A partir d'enquete de terrain de longue duree, l'auteur identifie les conditions sociales qui favorisent ces choix sportifs et etudie comment les femmes gerent les contradictions produites par la poursuite d'une carriere sportive.

Etre une femme dans le monde des hommes : Socialisation sportive et construction du genre

This study analyses gender relations amongst high-level judokas. It uses the interactionist paradigm developed by Goffman and takes into account both the actors' history and the context. More precisely, we observed interactions between men and women during training sessions of the pole-hope in Toulouse and carried out interviews with judokas exhibiting various behaviours. Results attest to the existence of differentiated behaviours according to sex throughout the judo session in mixed-sex non-adversarial situations and during the fight when the principle of pride is paramount. Behaviours constitute a sort of out of frame communication, reinforcing gender hierarchy. Moreover, the coeducational fight situation allows us to observe the framing activity of the judokas, the judo framework conflicting with that of gender experience. Indeed, the competitors must position themselves as men or women but also be recognized as judokas. During coed fights, the majority of judokas interpret the situation through the g...

Gender construction in judo interactions.

Cet article s'interesse a l'experience de femmes investies a haut niveau dans des sports dits masculins, le football et les boxes poings-pieds. L'analyse porte sur les conditions sociales qui permettent a des femmes de choisir des pratiques jugees masculines et sur les effets de la socialisation prolongee dans un monde « masculin ». Les donnees mettent en evidence l'existence de configurations familiales et de modes de socialisation sexuee specifiques construisant des dispositions sexuees « inversees ». Ces dispositions sexuees « inversees » sont retravaillees de maniere tres differente selon le contexte de pratique. Le milieu du football favorise un renforcement de ces dispositions « masculines », tandis que celui des boxes implique un travail important de « feminisation » de l'hexis corporelle.

Christine Mennesson

Papers

'Hard' women and 'soft' women. The social construction of identities among female boxers

Homosociability and Homosexuality: The Case of Soccer Played by Women

Etre une femme dans le monde des hommes : Socialisation sportive et construction du genre

Gender construction in judo interactions.

Être une femme dans un sport « masculin »: Modes de socialisation et construction des dispositions sexuees