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Hypermasculinity in schools: the good, the bad and the ugly

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posted on 2010-01-01, 00:00 authored by Chris HickeyChris Hickey
Beneath the common-sense understandings that some boys are sporty and some are not lies a complex suite of identity positions. For those that manage to have their identity confirmed within the powerful sporting discourses that dominate the masculinity landscape, the path to peer acceptance is a clearer one. Conversely, for boys that have their identity diminished by these same discourses, the consequences can be quite dramatic. While physical and athletic prowess are clearly prominent vectors in this sorting process there is a range of other personal and social conditions that impact such trajectories. Built on narrative methodological approaches, this chapter draws on research conducted in a range of settings to describe some of the ways young males understand and enact sporting masculinities. Through a series of research narratives I present the voices of a number of young males as they navigate their identities within and against dominant sporting discourses. To help make sense of the identity practices contained within these narratives a theoretical leaning towards ambivalence will be engaged. Drawing on the work of Foucault, the formation of a masculine sporting identity can be understood as the development of a specific relationship with oneself and with others. Within this framework, sporting identities, like all other identities, are viewed as a process not a state.

History

Title of book

Young people's voices in physical education and youth sport

Series

International studies in physical education and youth sport

Chapter number

7

Pagination

108 - 122

Publisher

Routledge

Place of publication

Abingdon, England

ISBN-13

9780415487443

ISBN-10

0415487447

Edition

1st ed.

Language

eng

Publication classification

B1 Book chapter; B Book chapter

Copyright notice

2010, Routledge

Extent

11

Editor/Contributor(s)

M O'Sullivan, A MacPhail

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