Citation

Nash M. Int. Rev. Sociol. Sport 2017; 52(6): 734-750.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, International Sociology of Sport Association, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1012690215615198

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper documents how I fought for a place as a boxer in a regional Tasmanian boxing gym over a 30 month period. This work builds on existing ethnographic accounts that argue that, for women, becoming a boxer is more than just a matter of developing a fit body and physical skill - it is a continual project of negotiating gendered identity. Using an analytic autoethnographic methodology and drawing on contemporary theories of masculinity, I share my individual experiences as a boxer and, in turn, reveal the complexities of bodywork and gendered identity within Tasmanian amateur boxing culture. My closing discussion analyses the way in which performances of masculinity were precarious, fragmented and anxious.

Language: en