1st Edition
Philosophical Perspectives on Gender in Sport and Physical Activity
There are a broad variety of sex and gender resonances in sport, from the clash of traditional ideas of femininity and athleticism represented by female athletes, to the culture of homophobia in mainstream male sport. Despite the many sociological and cultural volumes addressing these subjects, this collection is the first to focus on the philosophical writings that they have inspired. The editors have selected twelve of the most thought-provoking philosophical articles on these subjects from the past thirty years, to create a valuable and much needed resource.
Written by established experts from all over the world, the essays in this collection cover four major themes:
- sport and the construction of the female
- objectification and the sexualization of sport
- homophobia
- sex boundaries: obstruction, naturalization and opposition.
The book gathers a broad range of philosophical viewpoints on gender in sport into one unique source, subjecting the philosophical origins and characteristics of some of the most controversial topics in sport to rigorous scrutiny. With a balance of male and female contributors from both sides of the Atlantic, and a comprehensive introduction and postscript to contextualize the source material, Philosophical Perspectives on Gender in Sport and Physical Activity is essential reading for all students of the philosophy of sport, sport and gender, and feminist philosophy.
Dedication. Preface. Acknowledgements. Introduction. Part 1: Sport and the Construction of the Female Chapter 1. The Exclusion of Women From Sport: Conceptual and Existential Dimensions Chapter 2. Woman as Body: Ancient and Contemporary Views Chapter 3. The Philosophy of ‘Woman’ Versus the Ideal Athlete Part 2: Objectification Chapter 4. Sexualization and Sexuality in Sport Chapter 5: Mere and Partial Means: The Full Range of the Objectification of Women Chapter 6. Unraveling the Ideological Concept of The Female Athlete: A Connection between Sex and Sport Part 3 Sex Boundaries: Construction, Naturalisation, and Opposition Chapter 7. Men With Breasts Chapter 8. The Doping Ban: Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbophobia Chapter 9. What Would Happen if a ‘Woman’ Outpaced the Winner of the Gold Medal in the ‘Men’s’ One Hundred Meters? Female Sport, Drugs, and the Transgressive Cyborg Body Part 4: Homophobia Chapter 10. Focus on the "Muscle Moll" to the "Butch" Ballplayer: Mannishness, Lesbianism, and Homophobia in U.S. Women’s Sports Chapter 11. Outta My Endzone: Sport and the Territorial Anus Chapter 12. Openly Gay Athletes: Contesting Hegemonic Masculinity in a Homophobic Environment. Postscript
Biography
Paul Davis is a teaching fellow at the University of Abertay, Dundee. He has had numerous articles published in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, as well as having written an introductory text on metaethics. His background is in philosophy, including philosophy of sport.
Charlene Weaving is an assistant professor in the human kinetics department at St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia. She teaches gender and sport, Canadian sport history, qualitative research methods and an advanced Olympic Games course. Her current research interests include philosophical analysis of gender, sport, and sexuality.
"Unique in representing both male and female perspectives, this is a valuable resource for sport sociologists and those interested in women's and gender studies", Choice
