COURSE STRUCTURE
This topic focuses on the relationship between social power relations, the various dimensions of physical culture, and the embodied performance of femininity. This includes a discussion of the social and cultural construction of feminine body performance, both in terms of feminine form (shape) and function (practice). This process is related to sport and exercise cultures as the contexts through which women’s bodies become manifest in particular ways. Highlights examples of embodied femininity which both reproduce, and challenge, traditional codes and conventions of femininity.
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1. LECTURE
For six slides per page format (for printing) click : HERE
For one slide per page format (for viewing on computer) click: HERE
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2. REQUIRED READINGS
It is expected that you will complete these readings following Wednesday lectures and in preparation for discussion section tasks/assignments.
In addition, within the Module 2 exam, you should expect to be asked questions on the following readings:
Reading I: Roth, A., & Basow, S. A. (2004). Femininity, Sports, and Feminism: Developing a Theory of Physical Liberation. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 28(3), 245-265.
Reading II: Bain, J. (2012, February 3). Sexualizing our female athletes: How media holds back women’s sports league. JoelBain.com.
Reading III: Meyers, D. (2012, July 26). Happy Girl, Sad Girl: Shawn Johnson And Dominique Moceanu Tell The Two Stories People Want From Their Sport. Deadspin.com
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3. VIDEO CLIPS
Some of these video clips will be viewed during lecture. However, you are expected to view those not shown in lecture in preparation for both the discussion section and exam related to this topic:
Video Clip 1: Excerpt from Outnumbered, speaking to perceived differences in female throwing ability.
Video Clip 2: Two news segments (ABC and ESPN) featuring nin year-old football phenomenon, Sam Gordon.
Video Clip 3: A brief discussion of women’s place within the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Video Clip 4: Excerpt from a documentary focused on the gendered and gendering practice and pressures of synchronised swimming.
Video Clip 5: Excerpt from the documentary "True-Hearted Vixens" focused on the Women's Professional Football League.
Video Clip 6: New York Times video segment "Hiting the Mat" focused on girls participation in high school wrestling.
Video Clip 7: Clip from a documentary focused on the motivations and contradictions of female rugby participation.
Video Clip 10: Controversial promotion from an equally controversial Denver health club.
Video Clip 11: CNN News segment focused on the phenomenon of fitness-related pole dancing classes.
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4. KEY CONCEPTS
The following key concepts represent the core knowledge related to this topic, and you should ensure that you develop a thorough knowledge and understanding of them in preparation for both the discussion section and exam related to this topic:
The Gender Order
Gendered Body Performance
The Myth of Female Frailty/Physical Inferiority
The Self-Policing and Self-Disciplining of Female Bodies
Idealized, Objectified, and Sexualizing Feminine Bodies
Gendered and Gendering Disciplinary Institutions
The Gendering Strength/Weakness and Embodied Socialization
The Traditional Sporting Patriarchy
The Olympic Games and Female Advancement/Reinvention
Emphasised Femininity, Social Power, and Constricted Bodies
Sources of Emphasised Femininity and Emphasised Sport Performance
The Codes/Expectations of Sporting Emphasised Femininity
The Embodied Paradox of Constricted Sporting Emphasised Femininity
Embodied Constriction, Sexualization, and Infantalization
The Female Athlete Triad
The Psychological and Physiological Consequences of Sporting Constriction
Instrumental Bodies and Emergent Femininities
Invading the Male Preserve of “Invasion” Games
The Feminine Soccer Fallacy
Sporting Challenges to the Hegemony of Emphasised Femininity
The Primacy of Bodily Form (shape/size) and Function (effectiveness)
Masculine Femininities as Female Masculinity
The Social Problem of Female Sporting Physicality
Compulsory Heterosexualism and Implicit Homophobia
Sport and the Female Apologetic Defense
Objectification, Sexualization, and Trivialization of Female Athletes
The Sexual Paradox of Commercial Culture
Exercise Culture and Exercising Bodies
Bodywork and the Embodied Projection of the Self
The Fit and Fat Body as Physiological Possibility and Cultural Impossibility
Exercise Culture, Emphasised Femininity, and Social Acceptability
Coping Strategies for Exercise Culture
Instrumental and Appearance Tensions Within Bodywork
The (Dis)Empowering Contradictions of Exercise Culture
Sport, and Physical Culture as a Space for Contesting Embodied Femininities
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5. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Following the lecture, and having read the assigned readings and watch relevant video clips, you are encouraged to answer a series of discussion questions related to this topic which can be accessed HERE.
These questions require that you engage and extend the information covered within each theme, in order to generate a better understanding of core concepts, knowledge, and issues.
These questions are intended as preparation for both the discussion section and exam related to this topic.
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6. ESSAY QUESTION #6 (this is an option for the Module 2 essay)
To what extent, and in what ways, is female “bodywork” (Brace-Govan, 2002) a source of empowerment or disempowerment for physically active women? In your response, be sure to refer to specific examples of “bodywork” drawn from your own experiences and/or observations of female involvement in either sport or exercise culture, or both.
This essay should be a minimum of 1,500 words to answer it comprehensively.
You may find the following academic sources useful in completing this assignment. You do not have to use these sources, they are simply provided for you as an introduction to the literature, and you should use them where appropriate and/or relevant. Also, be warned, these readings do not count towards the THREE additional academic sources you are expected to use within your essays (however, they may direct you toward additional academic sources you could use):
Adams, N., & Bettis, P. (2003). Commanding The Room In Short Skirts: Cheering as the Embodiment of Ideal Girlhood. Gender & Society, 17(1), 73-91.
Brace-Govan, J. (2002). Looking at Bodywork: Women and Three Physical Activities.
Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 26(4), 403-420.
Carlson, J. (2010). The Female Signifiant in All-Women's Amateur Roller Derby.
Sociology of Sport Journal, 27(4), 428-440.
Collins, L. H. (2002). Working out the contradictions: Feminism and aerobics. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 26(1), 85-109.
Hellmich, B. (2006, February 5). Athletes’ hunger to win fuels eating disorders. USA Today.
If you choose to complete this essay, and in addition to the sources provided on this page, you need to identify and use (either through paraphrasing or direct quotation) interpretations, insights, or information from a MINIMUM OF THREE appropriate academic sources (in addition to those provided for you on this website).
The deadline for submitting (via the ELMS/Canvas website) your Module 2 Essay is 11.59pm ET on Friday November 27.
Important: The ELMS/Canvas website will not accept essays after the due time and date.
In order to receive feedback from your TA, you can submit a draft version of your essay up to and including 10.00pm ET Friday November 11.
Be sure to review the details on the module essay page. On that page you will find the EVALUATION CRITERIA for module essays (which you are strongly encouraged to read), you will also find links to the appropriate academic sources you should use when researching and writing your module essays, and the style and format guidelines you need to follow when completing module essays. All this information needs to be read, understood, and closely followed for you to succeed in this course.
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