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into traditionally highly ‘masculine’ sports, romance. It is not merely a pair, but explicitly
such as football, rugby, ice hockey, boxing, ‘a couple’ simulating erotic and loving
wrestling or body building, to be convinced aspects of a very traditional vision of
that it is not physical obstacles which prevent male/female relationships. Other work has
women from participating in such sports shown that media commentaries on the trials
(Mennesson, 2005). It is mainly because pro- and performances in women’s sports rein-
found and enduring upheavals have changed force stereotypes of women. Thus, MacNeill
masculine identity during the twentieth (1988) published a critique of how aerobics
century that sport was invented and has been performances are staged, arguing that the
used in this way by men. A. Rauch (2005) staging feeds the commodification of
has shown how women have been able to women’s bodies and works against their
assume roles reserved, until recently, for empowerment. In aerobics, both the presen-
men; how, among others, they have taken tation of self and the staging seem to be
control of their reproduction and their sexual guided by a culture of seduction: the aerobic
pleasure. The sense of what it is to be a man movements shape the female body in accor-
has changed and sport has been instrumental- dance with male desire. In the face of this
ized as an important resource in the celebra- control of competition over the way sport is
tion of practised, some sports feminists like Birrell
masculine identity. In line with their general and Richter (1987) also question the defini-
aspirations for gender equality, women have tions of sports proposed by researchers in the
fought throughout the twentieth century for social sciences (that of Guttman, 1978, in par-
access to sport and physical education as a ticular), because these are predicated largely
right. Sporting institutions, which have, for on competition and thus present a very mascu-
the most part, been exclusively masculine, line and reductionist view of sport. These
have had reservations about women’s partic- authors also show that women can transform
ipation. Gaining access to competitive sport sporting techniques, by playing on goals, seg-
was a long-term struggle for women, and regations, hierarchies, and transform practices
took the form of demands for equality of informed by their dependency into resources
access without segregation to both sporting to fight against male hegemony.
activities and organizations. In the face It has been observed that competitive sport
of continuing segregation and the difficulty offers the paramount opportunity to bestow
of limiting masculine control, some feminists praise on athletes who are male and, preferably,
have also advocated the creation of white. It extols aggression as a value, and
women-only associations and competitions thus promotes a very traditional and often
(Hargreaves, 1994). homophobic understanding of masculinity,
Researchers have shown that competitive while contributing to the construction and natu-
sport has played a role in the difficulties ralization of gender (Hargreaves, 1994;
women faced in gaining access to sport Messner et al., 2000). Researchers have also
without being undervalued. Gender order or underscored that this predominance of tradi-
hierarchy, feminine submission and mascu- tional definitions of masculinity, promoted by
line hegemony are strongly reinforced by the the culture of sport and its competition, is not
images and commentaries in competitive even unproblematic for men, especially with
sport. They reinforce sex roles and a domi- regard to the construction of their masculine
nant image of masculinity which is con- identity. Participation in sports that entail
structed and promoted almost systematically aggressive competition creates relational diffi-
by competitive sport (Connell, 1987). For culties for men. Messner and Sabo (1990: 14)
instance, Garber (1995) shows how the nar- note that men are ‘aware of how competition,
ratives associated with couples’ ice-skating homophobia, and misogyny in the sports
routines invariably dramatize heterosexual world limited [their] ability to develop truly