‘Buff boys’ with brooms: shifting representations of masculinity in Canadian men’s curling (original) (raw)
Related papers
International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 2019
The sport of curling, popular among older populations in Canada and conventionally imagined as a sport for older people, offers an important window into what it means to be an older man participating in sport. While researchers have extensively studied expressions of youthful masculinity in sport culture, scholarship about the confluence of gender expression and old age in sport is much rarer. Using Connell and Messerschmidt’s (2005) reconfiguration of hegemonic masculinity, and drawing on 19 interviews with older men who curl in mid-sized Canadian towns, we argue that later-life men negotiate complex models of appropriate masculinity that borrow from hegemonic exemplars available in earlier life, deploying certain forms of intellectual, class and gender privilege to do so. At the same time, they disrupt these hegemonies through an emphasis on interdependence, caring relationships and the acceptance of bodily limitations.
“I Don’t Think That’s Special to Curling:” Older Men’s Experiences of Curling’s New Rationality
Sociology of Sport Journal, 2019
Curling was perhaps once the sport the least associated with discipline and athleticism, instead having a reputation for drinking and smoking, an ethos prizing conviviality over competition, and a structure enabling amateurs to compete at the highest levels. However, during the gold-medal-winning performance of Team Brad Jacobs, a group of muscular young Canadian men, at the 2014 Winter Olympics, the public and media began celebrating changes in the sport that were already well under way. As curling enters a new era of rationalized training, fitness, and professionalization, this paper draws on interviews with older male curlers in two mid-size Canadian cities, and Ratele’s work on tradition, to ask what has been lost. Participants often embraced curling’s new emphasis on physical fitness. However, they also worried about the diminishing traditions of sociability, sportsmanship, and accessibility within the sport.
Canadian Graduate Journal of Sociology and Criminology, 2014
Ice hockey is particularly significant in Canada, since it acts as a primary site of socialization for boys and men. This form of socialization raises questions about masculinity on the public agenda in terms of the problematic nature of hypermasculinity in sport, stereotypical images of athletes, and questions of social responsibility as both men and athletes. These issues are presently relevant as Canada (and perhaps all of North America) finds itself in an era characterized by media accounts of competitive athletes' cavalier lifestyles, hazing rituals, violence, homophobia, drug addictions, and suicides. Scholars agree that these social issues can largely be attributed to problematic socialization through participation in hockey. This literature review uses secondary research to problematize masculinity in the ice hockey context by presenting the overarching claim that male hockey players embody hegemonic masculinity. The piece begins by defining R.W. concept of hegemonic masculinity and situating it in its current academic context. Next, it offers an overview of relevant literature on masculinity and sport along with a concise examination of scholarly work on the relationship between hegemonic masculinity and ice hockey in Canada. It concludes by summarising calls for further research in the field and by suggesting approaches to future studies.
“Real Fast and Tough”: The Construction of Canadian Hockey Masculinity
Sociology of Sport Journal, 2008
The purpose of this article is to examine issues relating to desirable hockey masculinity and how they are played out within the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). My aim is to explore how the presentation/representation of hegemonic Canadian hockey masculinity within the CHL works to marginalize non-North American hockey players. I examine how gender is performed by the players, how the CHL as an institution supports dominant notions of gender, and how ideas about gender are taken up by the media. I draw from ten semistructured narrative interviews conducted with non-North American hockey players who competed in the CHL, as well as the scholarly literature, media representations and commentary on the game, supplemental interviews, and an examination of North American and international hockey policy.
In this paper, we explore stereotypes of male Major Junior ice hockey players as they have been created and reinforced in the Canadian mass media. More specifically, we examine how Gongshow Gear Inc.-the first and most successful sports apparel company devoted exclusively to the "hockey lifestyle"-represented these players in its now defunct promotional magazines. Reporting on a content analysis of the company's 2012 Summer and Fall/Winter issues-the only ones ever released-our examination consists of two interrelated parts: first, a description of the stereotypes at work in the magazines; and second, a reflection on how the stereotypes both compare to and contrast with the lived experiences of those who played Major Junior hockey at the time the magazines were released. Ultimately, we suggest that the company's representations of Junior hockey players had and continue to have far-reaching implications not only for how the players understand themselves but also for how they are understood in contemporary Canadian society.
Sporting Cultures and Identities Rethinking Our Story Curling and the Olympic Effect
Often recognised as “quintessentially Canadian,” curling has long enjoyed a reputation as a quirky, accessible, and sociable winter sport (Weiting and Lamoureux 2001; Mair 2007, 2009). While first introduced as a medal sport (for men) at the Olympic Games in France (1924), sport leaders struggled for many years before its official status as an Olympic sport was cemented in 1998. Since then, Canadian athletes have dominated the Olympic podium and exposure to the sport has grown around the world. Nonetheless, efforts to grow the sport at the grassroots level have been less successful. The paper presents the results of an investigation into the impact of Olympic medal designation on curling. Twelve in-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with participants with a variety of connections to curling (e.g., high and mid-level administrators, high performance trainers, sport journalists, Olympic medal winning curlers). Data analysis illustrates a number of tensions have surfaced since its acceptance as a full medal sport, especially in regards to local club development and mid-level competition. Indeed, as curling becomes increasingly professionalised, the benefits are not being felt at all levels. We conclude by situating these findings within the context of implications for Olympic medal sport designation and sport development more generally.
2010
This article contributes to recent debates between supporters of the concept of hegemonic masculinity, as exemplified by R. W. Connell, and a new generation of gender scholars, as to how best explain the dynamic and fluid relationships between men, and men and women, in the early 21st century. Here, the author concurs with many of Connell's critics and proceeds by arguing that recent feminist extensions of Bourdieu's original conceptual schema-field, capital, habitus, and practice-may help reveal more nuanced conceptualizations of masculinities, and male gender reflexivity, in contemporary sport and physical culture. This author examines the potential of such an approach via an analysis of masculinities in the snowboarding field. In so doing, this article not only offers fresh insights into the masculine identities and interactions in the snowboarding field but also contributes to recent debates about how best to explain different generations and cultural experiences of masculinities.
The purpose of this study was to examine the role of a sport program in the lives of homeless men with severe mental illnesses and addictions. Interviews were conducted with eight men who attended a floor hockey program, and data examined using categorical-content narrative methodology. Five themes captured the role of the floor hockey program in the men's lives: (a) relationships with program leader, (b) therapy, (c) community, (d) action, and (e) achievement. These themes were interpreted using theories of masculinity . Relationships with the program leader and other men, and ways in which they were allowed to play with physicality, provided opportunities to accumulate masculine capital (i.e., ways in which competence in traditionally masculine behaviors provides masculine credit). Practically, the findings suggest that sport program delivery for men such as those in this study can be enhanced by providing opportunities for accruing masculine capital.
Sport, Masculinities, and Heteronormativity
Oxford University Press eBooks, 2022
Since its foundation in the late-19th century, sport has traditionally been charged with socializing boys and men into an environment in which they are expected to exhibit physical toughness, emotional stoicism, and the rejection of anything deemed to be feminine-including homosexuality. In the 21 st century, however, attitudes toward homosexuality and its presence in sport have improved. This chapter draws upon research from a range of sports to outline this shift in attitude. It also discusses dominant theoretical perspectives-hegemonic masculinity theory and inclusive masculinity theory-and how these have evolved over recent years-as well as some of the ongoing debates which pervade the field, including where further research is required.
Twelve not so angry men: Inclusive masculinities in Australian contact sports
Sport’s utility in the development of a conservative orthodox ideal of masculinity based upon homophobia, aggression and emotional restrictiveness is well evidenced in critical masculinities scholarship. However, contemporary research is reflecting a more nuanced understanding of male behaviour in many Western contexts, with men performing softer and more inclusive versions of masculinities. Through exploring the experiences of twelve Australian contact sport athletes, this research establishes findings to support the growing body of inclusive masculinities research. Results show that these men value a softer representation of masculinity based upon pro-gay sentiments and being emotionally open, while often being critical of aspects of orthodox masculinities which male team sport previously promoted.