" Let's Bang": Constructing, Reinforcing, and Embodying
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"Let's Bang": Constructing, Reinforcing, and Embodying Orthodox Masculinity in Women's Full-Contact, Tackle Football A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Sociology of the College of Arts and Sciences by Jennifer A. Carter M.A. Webster University December 2006 M.A. University of Cincinnati June 2011 Committee Chair: Erynn Masi de Casanova, Ph.D Abstract If asked to envision a football player in your head, a pretty standard image would likely emerge: a big, strong, muscular man. This image, and the discourse surrounding full-contact, American tackle football, focus on football as a "bastion of manhood;" a space where only the manliest of men will be successful. However, missing from this picture are the many women who participate in tackle football. In examining women's football, this study began by asking: what beliefs and practices constitute women's experiences of gender in tackle football? To answer this question, this project used several qualitative methodologies to examine the lived experiences of women playing football, including more than 300 hours of embodied participant observation, informal interviews, and autoethnography. This study finds that in aligning with expectations of football culture, women engage in a cyclical process in which they construct, reinforce, and embody football masculinity, an aggressive masculinity requiring physical sacrifice, and overt denigration of femininity. The construction of football masculinity requires women to overcome physical and ideological boundaries regarding women's bodies, engage in antifeminine behaviors, and suppress feminine performance throughout the season. This requires policing of masculinity and femininity constantly, a practice in which both coaches and players engage. Ultimately, this process illustrates the fluidity of masculinity and femininity, as it is apparent that women tackle football players engage in both at varying levels through their interactions. Thus, this study finds that masculinity and femininity cannot be seen as polar opposites, or as the ends of a singular continuum. Instead, women tackle football players illustrate that one can engage in femininity and masculinity simultaneously. ii iii Acknowledgements Writing an acknowledgements section feels like giving an acceptance speech at an awards show. You know, the speech that goes on for five minutes after the music starts playing cuing the end of the speaker's time. The speech that attempts to recognize everyone who was critical to the success that led to the award. The speech that invariably leaves someone out. Yep, writing this is kind of like that. I know I will forget to thank somebody, and someone will not get the thanks that they deserve. The truth is that this dissertation is not here today without the support of many more people than can be listed in this short section. Although I am the writer, I am certainly not the only contributor. So, I apologize in advance to those whom I have omitted. First and foremost, I would like to thank my family. I doubt I would have considered football an interesting area of study if I had not grown up in a football-obsessed household. I have carried that love of football with me, attending 100-plus Bearcat football games, all while continuing to bleed scarlet and gray for the Buckeyes. Dad, Mom, Tim, Shannon, Matt, Wyatt, and Reagen, thank you for your love and support over the years. And, Mom, now you can finally stop asking when I am finally going to graduate! To Amy, I want to apologize for the sleepless nights, stress, anxiety, tears, and stacks and stacks of books and papers that took over our living room for the last three years. You always understood when I was too sore to move, or too busy to do fun things. Thank you for sticking by my side, and loving me even when things weren't "ideal." I also would like to thank those at U.C. who assisted me throughout this process. First, Erynn Masi de Casanova, what an incredible mentor you have been. You offered a great balance of critique and support on my research and writing. Although this process was often iv overwhelming, you had a knack for easing my anxiety. Dave Maume, it was your sociology of sports course that started me on this crazy journey into sports scholarship. Thank you for that inspiration. Finally, Corinne Reczek, thank you for graciously remaining on my committee after you headed north. You continuously challenged me, which I know made me a better scholar. I also must thank Danielle Bessett. Even though you were never a member of my committee, you kindly offered feedback on my early work, effectively helping me gain my dissertation fellowship. Last, but certainly not least, I must send some love to my UC colleagues, Jodi, my "work wife," Kelli and Travis, my "dream team," and Katie, Debbi, and Jess. Each of you played a different role in helping me get to this point; I only hope I have been able to offer you something in return. I definitely must acknowledge the generous financial support that made this research possible. I am honored to have been a Charles Phelps Taft Dissertation Fellow. This fellowship offered me much needed time to further my research. Thank you to the Taft Center for travel support as well; this made it possible for me to attend various professional meetings to share my research with the academic community. The Graduate Student Governance Association, Office of Research, and Graduate School also funded this project through a Research Award. It is unlikely I would have been able to afford all of the travel and team fees over my two football seasons without this monetary assistance. Finally, I have to thank every member of the Cincinnati Sizzle and its support staff. Without the team there is no product. The dedication that so many of you have to the sport inspires me. I thought that I was dedicated to football, but many of you have made me question that truth. The phrase "for love of the game" seems inadequate to describe your reasons for playing this incredible sport. Continue to "bang"; I'll be watching! v Table of Contents Introduction 1 "A Woman's Place is in the Huddle": A Social History of Women in Tackle Football 27 "Hit a Bitch": Constructing Football Masculinity 54 "What is this Girly Shit?": Reinforcing Football Masculinity 75 "Those kinds of bruises only come from football": Embodying Football Masculinity 91 "Dude, those are girls": Boundary Maintenance on the Football Field 110 "For Love of the Game": The Future of Women's Football 133 References 145 vi List of Tables Table 1.1 Racial Identity of Sizzle Players 21 Table 1.2 Income Level of Sizzle Players 22 Table 1.3 Education Level of Sizzle Players 23 Table 1.4 Sexual Identity of Sizzle Players 24 Table 2.1 Disbanded Women's Tackle Football Leagues 42 Table 2.2 Women's Tackle Football Leagues in 2013 47 vii List of Figures Figure 1.1 J.A. Carter (9) is blocked by an opposing player during a kickoff in 2011. 3 Figure 1.2 Number of players that marked each position on the masculine-feminine 11 continuum Figure 1.3 Hybrid gender performance continuum 12 Figure 2.1: Gladys Scherer and the Upsala College women's football team. 32 Figure 2.2: The Frankford Yellow Jackets women's team that served as halftime 34 entertainment for the Frankford Yellow Jackets versus Chicago Cardinals professional football game. Figure 2.3 Women football players wore different styles of uniforms in different 36 decades as illustrated by Miss Kent McCord in 1924, Luverne Wise in 1939, and Agnes Risner in 1945. viii Chapter 1: Introduction I knew it was coming. At some point during this game I was going to get hit. I had not been hit in practice the day before, so far my only day as a tackle football player. But it was coming. I was only playing on kickoffs, and had made it through the first kickoff of the game having barely been touched by a player from the other team. As time in the second quarter ran down, and the offense neared the goal line, I knew I would be heading onto the field at least once more before halftime. I wasn't nervous, but I stood there wondering what it was like to get hit. Hard. These women did not hold back. In fact, after a few players from the other team illegally hit our players without penalty, the coaches had ordered our defense to try to injure the other team's offensive players. The offense had failed to reach the end zone, but the field goal team was headed onto the field to attempt to get us three points. I strapped on my helmet, expecting the kick to be good. A moment later the referee’s hands went up to signal a Cincinnati field goal. We were now winning 3-0. As I ran onto the field for my second kickoff, I could feel it. My participant observation, which had been taken to a new level when I strapped on football gear, was about to get a whole lot more painful. I was sure of it. "Left side ready," the kicker yelled. "Hell yeah," we responded. "Right side ready," she yelled again. "Hell yeah," they replied. In unison we all began sprinting down the field. The ball was flying towards my side of the field, and was cleanly caught by the other team’s return specialist. Her job now was to get past me.