Gender Relations and Sport for Development in Colombia: A Decolonial Feminist Analysis

Abstract

Playing sports has long been a taboo for women in Colombia, yet new spaces for female participation have emerged in recent decades. This article explores the gendered nature of sport in Colombia through the lived experiences of female participants involved in a local Sport for Development and Peace organization. Building on ethnographic fieldwork and a decolonial feminist perspective, the authors examine how cultural experiences of physicality are gendered but are potentially changing in the context of leisure practices and how this may shape power relations. Although more girls and women are participating in masculine leisure pursuits, there are critical limitations to social change and female participants demonstrate the coloniality of gender in action.     

One Day of #Feminism: Twitter as a Complex Digital Arena for Wielding,Shielding, and Trolling talk on Feminism

This article offers a critical analysis of the uses of the hashtag ‘#feminism’ on Twitter. To do so, we collected all English-language tweets shared publicly and containing the #feminism on Twitter in one 24-hour period and analyzed the content of those tweets. We found tweets with #feminism content served to (1) discuss understandings of feminism(s), (2) describe perceptions of feminists, (3) respond to/promote misogyny, and (4) express perceived relevance of feminism as a social movement. Beyond describing how #feminism is used in Twitter tweets, our findings inform our presentation of the use of #feminism to wield, shield, and troll feeds on feminism. We also discuss the opportunities for Twitter, as a digital leisure space, to be used to examine more closely complex, ongoing, and evolving conversations about feminism.     

Women's Leisure as Political Practice: A Feminist Analysis of Orange Is the New Black

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to examine representations of women's leisure portrayed on the popular Netflix television series Orange Is the New Black (OITNB). Using a feminist lens rooted in the notion of interconnectivity, we draw on four television tropes proposed by Pozner (2010 Pozner, J. L. (2010). Reality bites back: The troubling truth about guilty pleasure TV. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press. [Google Scholar]) that are commonly used to depict women characters on television to analyze representations of women's leisure in the first three seasons of OITNB. Our analysis reveals the complex and messy ways representations of women's leisure on OITNB can be used to discipline, reproduce, but also challenge power relations associated with common media tropes, acting as a form of political practice. We conclude by considering the implications of how these representations can influence the lives of women consuming this media content as part of their leisure.     

Physical correlates of perceived quality in lakeshore development

Abstract

This research examined dimensions of perception and preference for shoreline scenes. A systematic random sample of 63 shoreline scenes was obtained and photographed. Sixty adults were asked to sort the photographs of shoreline scenes in terms of similarity. They were also asked to identify the constructs which they used to sort and to rank the scenes in terms of preference. Comparisons of preferences by age, income, marital status, and sex groups indicated few significant differences and high correlations between the groups. Multidimensional scaling and canonical correlation revealed that a four‐dimensional solution‐Obtrusiveness in land/water barriers. Upkeep, Diverse/man‐made and Land‐use compatibility‐adequately described the dimensions of perception. The results of stepwise regression analysis indicated that preference increased with decreases in diversity, industry, streets, and land/ water barriers and with increases in vegetation and upkeep.     

Leading,following and sexism in social dance: change of meaning as contained secondary adjustments

By assigning men the role of ‘lead’ and women the role of ‘follow’, social dance can be viewed as a form of serious leisure that appears to perpetuate a system that positions women as subordinate to men. Interviews with 29 women and 10 men who self-identified as social dancers revealed that women used several strategies to create meanings for following that allowed them to achieve parity with men while operating in an explicitly sexist idioculture. Women’s interpretation of following and the relationship between leading and following was as learning a complex set of skills and abilities that allowed them to make an important contribution to the dance. The meanings women applied to following can be understood as contained secondary adjustments. By viewing following as a performance that requires considerable skill, women can expose the idea that the role of follow is subordinate to the lead as a social construction, and, in the process, use being a follow to subvert the expected social organisation.     

A Reflection on Cultural Conflicts in Women's Leisure

This essay addresses the cultural implications of leisure by using an example of the relationship of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in Taiwan. Historically, Chinese people have lived in an extended family arrangement, usually with three or four generations together. The modern nuclear family leads to conflicting ways of negotiating the intergenerational relationships and women's leisure. Contradictions for women are brought about by the influences of new Western and old Confucian cultures, which are described in this essay.     

Enacting Masculinities in a Contemporary Subcultural Sporting Event: A Gendered Critique

Sport participation and alcohol consumption have been widely examined in analyses of masculinity and implicated in perpetuating hegemonic masculinity in Western cultures. This article addresses a variant of the “Beer Mile,” a ritualistic event that has emerged as an ancillary to major triathlons in Australia. In this context, the Beer Mile is an unsanctioned event simultaneously fusing sport participation and alcohol consumption, intended as a jocular celebration of athletic achievement. This research utilises a case study research design employing multiple qualitative methods to critique gender-based discursive practices and online discourse surrounding the Beer Mile. Analysis revealed the Beer Mile as a masculine-dominated space reinforcing normative assumptions on gender binaries and hierarchies. Numerous constraints to women's participation and implicit endorsement of the sport-alcohol nexus were identified, which may undermine broader efforts in promoting the sport of triathlon through notions of egalitarianism, inclusiveness, and healthy lifestyles.     

Playing Our Way: Contributions of Social Groups to Women's Continued Participation in Golf

This study builds upon research on leisure based social worlds and recent work identifying the potentially valuable roles of social groups in women's continued participation in recreation. This study is an ethnography of a group of women who regularly played golf. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The analysis suggested two overarching themes that explained persistence in golf for these women: connecting with group members and constructing a group culture. Importantly, the processes that facilitated the development of group connections were also identified, thereby adding a further understanding of how socializing is made possible in leisure contexts.     

The Postqualitative Turn in Physical Cultural Studies

Abstract

In this autoethnographic paper I engage with feminist theories of the body, materiality and affect to illuminate the ways in which I negotiate dominant discourses of masculinity in playing football. I begin by grounding the paper within Feminist Physical Cultural Studies, and explore the post-qualitative potential of auto-ethnography as a means of exploring lived experiences. In the sections that follow, I describe my experiences of playing football and delineate the objects and intensities which I saw within an AFL assemblage. Jerseys, balls, and beer all have the potential to mark bodies as skilful, tough, masculine, or otherwise. In examining the relationships between objects and bodies, I am able to demonstrate the means through which masculinity is woven into football.     

Organized Youth Sport and Parenting in Public and Private Spaces

This article examines the connection of organized youth sport to cultural beliefs, values and practices of contemporary parenting ideologies, specifically the idealization of intensive mothering and involved fathering. It explores how parenting ideologies are constructed by the discourses expressed by individuals in their everyday lives through their children's sport participation. Moreover, the analysis of the parental discourse illustrates how parenting goes beyond the home environment and becomes a public act that is observed by other parents, with these observations creating the basis of what is deemed to be a good parent. Emphasis is also placed on the gendered dimensions of meeting the expectations for being a good parent.     

Meditation as a kind of leisure: the similarities and differences in the United States

Meditation has been shown to be a cost-effective means to help individuals reduce stress, alleviate anxiety and depression. Similarly, leisure has been found to reduce stress, improve mood and contribute to overall health and well-being. The similarities and differences in outcomes between meditation and leisure suggest that a comparative analysis may determine if and how experiences and outcomes of meditation may be similar to and different from those of leisure and provide deeper insights into the ways in which both can contribute to improved quality of life. The purpose of this study is to examine the similarities and differences in meditation and leisure as perceived by a range of individuals engaging in meditation. Results indicate that meditators experience stress reduction, emotional balance and an enhanced quality of life during both their leisure and meditation. Many of the positive experiences and outcomes derived from meditation render it very similar to leisure. Nevertheless, meditation and leisure also differ in several important ways.     

Sport within Muslim organizations in Norway: ethnic segregated activities as arena for integration

During recent years, there has been a growing focus within sports research on ethnic minorities and their involvement in sports. In UK, studies show that Muslim organisations offering sports activities to their members are a common phenomenon. The establishment of sports clubs by minority groups has been met with scepticism from governmental bodies because it is perceived as a ‘segregated’ activity that does not contribute to integration. However, in Norway, no research has been conducted on the output of these establishments, something this paper hopes to redress in part. The paper reports on a research project which aimed to examine the role of Muslim organisations in Norway in the development of social capital and integration through sport. The theoretical approach to the study of integration has Putnam’s concept and understanding of social capital as point of departure. The study is based on interviews with representatives of seven Muslim organisations (mosques) in Oslo as well as participant observation at two arrangements. The sports activities offered by the mosques are first and foremost used by the mosques as a tool to recruit and gather Muslim youth. The study reveals the integration aspect of the work conducted by the Muslim organisations. It is argued that the Muslim organisations’ idea of supporting youth to become ‘Norwegian Muslim’ is built on an ‘anti-racism multiculturalism’ discourse which rejects assimilation. A key aspect of this discourse is that minorities turn a negative difference ascribed by the majority into a positive identity to be proud of. As such, the work emphasises the possibility of being both Muslim and well-integrated into Norwegian society. Hence, the article argues for an integration perspective that recognises the integration work being carried out by minority organisations, even though this work, in terms of social networks, has more of a bonding character.     

Place construction and public space: Cantonese opera as leisure in the urban parks of Guangzhou,China

This article explores the relationship between traditional leisure activities and public space by studying Cantonese opera in the urban parks of Guangzhou, China. The approach utilises place construction theory to analyse the public space construction processes of Cantonese opera. This study found that Cantonese opera, as leisure embedded in the urban parks, constructs the park as a site of performativity and joyful togetherness. The local government constructs the urban park as a locale to celebrate traditional culture and market the city to its residents and visitors alike. Cantonese opera participants frequent the park and find it suitable for coordinating simple leisure activities and professional performances. This may be due to the perceived benefits of self-entertainment, health promotion and culture promotion. These factors, in turn, demonstrate the performativity of urban parks. As for joyful togetherness, elderly participants seek a sense of belonging and personal safety in urban parks by means of traditional leisure activities and social relationships, which help to ease the psychological impact of rapid urbanisation. During the place construction process, leisure participants gain an awareness of culture and space as part of this social ritual. Therefore, the influence of these operas extends to the local city and governmental spheres.