TY - JOUR
T1 - Inclusive Masculinity Theory and the Gendered Politics of Men’s Rugby.
AU - Anderson, Eric
AU - McGuire, R
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - This ethnographic research uses one year of participant observation and 24 interviews to examine the construction of masculinity among teammembers within a highly successful rugby squad, at a high ranked academic university in England. We find that the players and coaches share a sporting field in which variations in their gendered belief systems are sharply contested. Teammates believe their coaches to be exhibiting an out-of-date, orthodox version of masculinity, and instead of adopting their coaches’ perspectives on masculinity, players take a more inclusive approach to masculinity making. The players on this team—all of whom identify as heterosexual—contest three fundamental principles of orthodox masculinity: homophobia, misogyny, and excessive risk-taking. These men do not degrade women or gay men in any measureable manner, and they are emotionally supportive of each other when ill or injured. We suggest that these results require a new way for theorizing about masculinity, and we therefore propose inclusive masculinity theory to frame our data and discuss our participants’ complicated association with the political project of adopting more inclusive attitudes toward masculinity.
AB - This ethnographic research uses one year of participant observation and 24 interviews to examine the construction of masculinity among teammembers within a highly successful rugby squad, at a high ranked academic university in England. We find that the players and coaches share a sporting field in which variations in their gendered belief systems are sharply contested. Teammates believe their coaches to be exhibiting an out-of-date, orthodox version of masculinity, and instead of adopting their coaches’ perspectives on masculinity, players take a more inclusive approach to masculinity making. The players on this team—all of whom identify as heterosexual—contest three fundamental principles of orthodox masculinity: homophobia, misogyny, and excessive risk-taking. These men do not degrade women or gay men in any measureable manner, and they are emotionally supportive of each other when ill or injured. We suggest that these results require a new way for theorizing about masculinity, and we therefore propose inclusive masculinity theory to frame our data and discuss our participants’ complicated association with the political project of adopting more inclusive attitudes toward masculinity.
U2 - 10.1080/09589236.2010.494341
DO - 10.1080/09589236.2010.494341
M3 - Article
VL - 19
SP - 249
EP - 261
JO - Journal of Gender Studies
JF - Journal of Gender Studies
SN - 0958-9236
IS - 3
ER -