Description
Oral Presentation abstract:Most of the advancements in women’s sport and gender research in sport management, over the last half a century can be characterized as liberal feminism. Supporters of liberalism present the pragmatic point that it is essential for females to have access to participation in order to have access to power. However, whilst the current practice of redistributive liberal feminism may increase the number of female participants, it does little to challenge or alter dominant gendered discourses and power structures within sport organizations. Since the 1964 Olympics, women have had the opportunity to compete against men in all three equestrian disciplines, a prima facie example of equality rarely found in other sports. Conversely equestrianism has been cited as a context that epitomizes social inequality and elitism. In this presentation we aim to explore how a focus on materials and materiality can provide new methodological and theoretical insights into gender-related management aspects of a sex-integrated sport such as equestrianism. We draw on recent debates in social studies that focus on the constitutive role of the material environment and the body in social life, under the banner of ‘new materialism’. Through this lens we discuss the place of gender in sex-integrated sport from participation on the field of play to participation in the board room. In particular we argue that the theory of hegemonic masculinity needs to be expanded beyond the framework of patriarchy and re-formed in relation to the place of nature in the complex ecology of human social relations within sport.
| Period | 6 Jun 2018 → 8 Jun 2018 |
|---|---|
| Event title | 6th International Conference on Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Vancouver, Canada, British ColumbiaShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |