Women in action sport cultures

GLOBAL CULTURE AND SPORT

WOMEN IN ACTION

SPORT CULTURES

Identity, Politics and Experience

Holly Thorpe and Rebecca Olive

Edited by

Global Culture and Sport Series

Series Editors: Stephen Wagg, Leeds Metropolitan University, UK, and

David Andrews, University of Maryland, USA Th e Global Culture and

Sport series aims to contribute to and advance the debate about sport and

globalization through engaging with various aspects of sport culture as a

vehicle for critically excavating the tensions between the global and the

local, transformation and tradition and sameness and diff erence. With

studies ranging from snowboarding bodies, the globalization of rugby

and the Olympics, to sport and migration, issues of racism and gender,

and sport in the Arab world, this series showcases the range of exciting,

pioneering research being developed in the fi eld of sport sociology.

More information about this series at

http://www.springer.com/series/15008

Holly Thorpe• Rebecca Olive

Editors

Women in Action

Sport Cultures

Identity, Politics and Experience

Global Culture and Sport Series

ISBN 978-1-137-45796-7 ISBN 978-1-137-45797-4 (eBook)

DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-45797-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016957455

© Th e Editor(s) (if applicable) and Th e Author(s) 2016

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with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Th is work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether

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Th e use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication

does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant

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Editors

Holly Th orpe

University of Waikato

New Zealand

Rebecca Olive

University of Waikato

New Zealand

To future generations of women in actions sports, and the women who

paved the way for them.

vii

‘A highly engaging collection that covers an array of fascinating topics from roller derby to

parkour. Once started, it’s hard to put down’.

–Robyn Longhurst, University of Waikato , New Zealand .

‘Th is volume opens the topic of ‘sport’ to postcolonial feminisms, queer theory, critical

masculinities, and a continuing regard for the social lives of women and girls’.

–Krista Comer, Institute for Women Surfers , USA

Endorsements

ix

We are grateful to our wonderful authors who embraced this anthology

with such enthusiasm. Also, many thanks to the editorial and production

team from Palgrave Macmillan and to our reviewers. We had the plea￾sure of working on this book while both living in Raglan and working at

the University of Waikato. We are grateful for the constant support and

encouragement from our colleagues across the University of Waikato,

and particularly those from Te Oranga, School of Human Development

and Movement Studies.

Acknowledgements

xi

1 Introduction: Contextualizing Women in Action Sport

Cultures 1

Holly Th orpe and Rebecca Olive

Part I Researching Gender in Action Sport Cultures 21

2 Looking Back, Moving Forward? Refl ections from Early

Action Sport Researchers 23

Holly Th orpe , Rebecca Olive , Becky Beal , Douglas Booth , Jason

Laurendeau , Catherine Palmer , Robert E. Rinehart , and Belinda

Wheaton

3 Surfi ng Together: Exploring the Potential of a 

Collaborative Ethnographic Moment 45

Rebecca Olive , Holly Th orpe , Georgina Roy , Mihi Nemani ,

lisahunter , Belinda Wheaton , and Barbara Humberstone

Contents

xii Contents

Part II Gender Relations and Negotiations 69

4 Sporting Gender Relations, Life Course Transitions

and Implications for Women Rock Climbers 71

Victoria Robinson

5 ‘Don’t Be a Douche’: An Introduction to Sex-Integrated

Roller Derby 91

Adele Pavlidis and James Connor

6 Parkour, Gendered Power and the Politics of Identity 111

Belinda Wheaton

7 Th e ‘Girl Eff ect’ in Action Sports for Development: Th e 

Case of the Female Practitioners of Skateistan 133

Holly Thorpe and Megan Chawansky

Part III Female Action Sport Identities and Lived

Experiences 153

8 Negotiating Moral Terrain: Snowboarding Mothers 155

Lucy Spowart and Lisette Burrows

9 ‘No One Wants to Mess with an Angry Mom’: Females’

Negotiation of Power Technologies Within a Local

Skateboarding Culture 175

Matthew Atencio , Becky Beal , ZaNean McClain ,

and Missy Wright

10 Coming Together and Paddling Out : Lesbian Identities

and British Surfi ng Spaces 193

Georgina Roy

Contents xiii

11 Th e Experiences of ‘Brown’ Female Bodyboarders:

Negotiating Multiple Axes of Marginality 213

Mihi Nemani and Holly Th orpe

Part IV Action Sports in Transition: Consumption,

Technology, Risk and Desire 235

12 Technology, Equipment and the Mountain Biker’s

Taskscape 237

Kath Bicknell

13 Th e Changing Face of Ultimate Frisbee and the

Politics of Inclusion 259

Hamish Crocket

14 Girl Power Figures, Mythic Amazons, and Neoliberal

Risk Performers: Discursively Situating Women Who

Participate in Mixed Martial Arts 279

Riley Chisholm , Charlene Weaving , and Kathy Bishoping

Part V Media, Politics and Pedagogies 299

15 Carving Out Space in the Action Sports Media

Landscape: Th e Skirtboarders’ Blog as a ‘Skatefeminist’

Project 301

Steph MacKay

16 Becoming Visible: Visual Narratives of ‘Female’ as a 

Political Position in Surfi ng: Th e History, Perpetuation,

and Disruption of Patriocolonial Pedagogies? 319

lisahunter

xiv Contents

17 Cultural Pedagogies—Action Sports 349

Synthia Sydnor

18 Afterword 369

Simone Fullagar

Index 377

xv

Matthew   Atencio, PhD, is an assistant professor at California State University

East Bay in Hayward, California. He teaches courses related to social justice and

research methodologies in the context of urban sport cultures and schools. Dr.

Atencio researches socio-cultural issues related to youth sport, including both

traditional and lifestyle/action forms. He also investigates pedagogical innova￾tion in physical education, outdoor education, and broader school systems. Dr.

Atencio has worked within international research settings such as Australia,

Scotland, Singapore, and the USA.

Becky   Beal , Ed.D., is a professor of kinesiology at California State University

East Bay, where she teaches courses in the sociology and philosophy of sport and

serves as the associate director for the Center for Sport and Social Justice. Dr.

Beal has been researching the cultural and political dynamics of skateboarding

for over 20 years and has published several articles, book chapters, and a refer￾ence book on the topic. Currently, she is collaborating with Drs. Atencio,

McClain, and Wright to explore urban politics and the diff ering practices of

parents and community groups’ investment in skateboard parks.

Kath   Bicknell, PhD, investigates embodied cognition and skilled action in live

performance. She is infectiously interested in what this teaches us about the

world we live in and the bodies we have. Her research draws on her experiences

as a mountain bike racer to advance interdisciplinary debates in the humanities

and sciences. Drawing on her background in performance studies, she currently

works with a talented team based in the Department of Cognitive Science at

Notes on Contributors

xvi Notes on Contributors

Macquarie University in Sydney and as a freelance media professional. Dr.

Bicknell regularly writes opinion pieces, features, and equipment reviews for

global cycling media.

Katherine   Bischoping, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology at York

University. Her trajectory from statistics to applied survey research, and then to

qualitative approaches in sociology and beyond, including playwriting, has been

informed by her abiding fascination with research methods. Dr. Bischoping’s

projects examine the behind-the-scenes work of methodologists, the role of nar￾ration and memory in oral history methods, gendered discourses in cultural nar￾ratives, and cultural work and workers. She has been published in such journals

as Public Opinion Quarterly , Holocaust and Genocide Studies , American Journal of

Political Science , Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology , and Sex Roles .

Lisette   Burrows, PhD, is a professor in the School of Physical Education, Sport

and Exercise Sciences, University of Otago, New Zealand. She has been researching

and teaching health and physical education pedagogy for over 20 years. Her

research draws on poststructural theoretical tools and insights from the sociology of

education, sociology of youth, curriculum studies and cultural studies’ perspectives

to explore the place and meaning of physical culture and health in young people’s

lives. She is also interested in the ways health imperatives expressed at policy and

government level are taken up and responded to in community contexts.

Megan   Chawansky, PhD, is a Faculty Member at the University of Kentucky.

She has worked and researched in the Sport for Development and Peace (SDP)

sector since 2008. Her research focuses on socio-cultural power struggles around

gender, and the way in which these struggles shape the subjectivities, bodies, and

lives of girls and women.

Riley   Chisholm, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology at St. Francis

Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada. Her research is in the area of fear, gen￾der identity, and politics; however, in recent work, she is beginning to look at

issues around ontology, farming, and food security.

James   Connor, PhD, is a senior lecturer in the School of Business, University

of New South Wales (UNSW), Canberra. His work on sport focuses on doping,

team culture, and fan behavior, informed by his research in emotions theory

( Th e Sociology of Loyalty , Springer, 2007). He has published in sport, medicine,

and sociology journals and currently holds two World Anti-Doping Agency

(WADA) social science research grants.

Notes on Contributors xvii

Hamish   Crocket, PhD, is a senior lecturer in Te Oranga, School of Human

Development and Movement Studies, University of Waikato, New Zealand. He

draws on sociological and psychological theories to study ethical subjectivities

within both action and traditional sports. He also has related strands of research

focusing on gender, coaching, and qualitative research methods.

Barbara   Humberstone, PhD, is a professor of sociology of sport and outdoor

education at Buckinghamshire New University, UK.  Her research interests

include embodiment and nature-based sport, and well-being and outdoor peda￾gogies. She co-edited (with M. Brown) Seascapes: Shaped by the sea. Embodied

Narratives and Fluid Geographies (2015) and (with K. Hendersen and H. Prince)

International Handbook of Outdoor Studies (2016), and has published papers in

a variety of journals. Dr. Humberstone is editor-in chief of the Journal of

Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning and was chair of the European

Institute for Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning

(2004–2008). She is a keen windsurfer, walker, swimmer, and yogini.

lisahunter, PhD, researches and teaches in physical and movement cultures,

including surfi ng, health and physical education, teacher education, sport and

leisure, and research methodologies. A current focus is on historical and con￾temporary narratives of surfi ng at personal, organizational, and cultural levels.

She explores many contexts to pay attention not only to identity, practices, and

pedagogies in surfi ng and relationships with the sea, but also in relation to

schooling, teacher education, sex/gender/sexualities. Dr. lisahunter has become

fascinated by methodologies of sensory and visual narrative as part of participa￾tory research, and is publishing widely on this topic.

Steph   MacKay, PhD, is an independent scholar located in  Ottawa,

Canada. She has published in a range of scholarly journals and books on the

topics of gender in digital skateboarding media, social theory, obesity, and cam￾pus media. Her current project explores the role digital community media plays

in facilitating women’s entry into Great Lake surfi ng and providing female surf￾ers with a space for the construction of cultural identities. Dr. MacKay spends

copious amounts of time outdoors and tries to get on snow/surf/skateboards

whenever possible.

ZaNean   McClain, PhD, is an assistant professor of kinesiology at California

State University East Bay. She received her doctorate from Oregon State

University, specializing in sport pedagogy. Her research expertise relates to inves￾tigating youth and parent participation in urban sport contexts, in relation to