Perspectives on Women Athletes and Gender Collaborative Training
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Durham E-Theses Masculinities and Sexualities of Elite Male Team Sport Athletes: An Ethnographic Examination OGILVIE, MARK,EDWARD How to cite: OGILVIE, MARK,EDWARD (2019) Masculinities and Sexualities of Elite Male Team Sport Athletes: An Ethnographic Examination , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/13532/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Masculinities and Sexualities of Elite Male Team Sport Athletes: An Ethnographic Examination Mark F. Ogilvie Abstract Previous research on masculinities in team sports, in Western cultures, has shown that stratifications of men were based on athletic capital, homophobic and misogynistic language, and the maintenance of characteristics associated with orthodox notions of masculinity; the more of these qualities that a man possessed, the closer the man placed to the top of the masculine hierarchy (Connell, 1995). However, research shows that homophobia has been on a rapid decline since 1993, leading to a rise in inclusive attitudes towards homosexuality (Anderson, 2014). In this doctoral research, I conducted a year-long ethnography with five elite level male sports teams (Volleyball, Water Polo, Lacrosse, Basketball, and American Football), to examine how masculinities, and attitudes towards non-heterosexual athletes, are changing at the highest level of sport. This research shows that elite male athletes demonstrate a decline in homophobia, a shift towards inclusive masculinities and positive attitudes towards non-heterosexual athletes. With jock masculinities softening and attitudes towards homosexuality becoming more positive, these men are more willing to engage in pro-gay language, rather than homophobic language, and to discuss sexual fluidity within themselves. This group of elite male athletes also had unique ways of bonding with each other, leading to my development of The Tripartite Model of Homoeroticism, which describes male athletes increase in positive body talk, physical tactility and Bromances. Furthermore, inclusive attitudes have also reshaped the ways that elite male athletes interact with elite female athletes, fostering high levels of respect for each other, and a push for Gender Collaborative Training for male and female athletes of the same sport. Masculinities and Sexualities of Elite Male Team Sport Athletes: An Ethnographic Examination Mark F. Ogilvie A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Sociology University of Durham Department of Applied Social Sciences January 2019 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 6 The PhD ................................................................................................................................... 13 Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 14 Originality .................................................................................................................................... 15 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................... 16 Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................................ 17 Chapter 2: Sport as a Social Institution ............................................................................ 20 Sport’s Post-Industrial Revolution ............................................................................................ 22 Sport: Violence, Injuries and Complicity to Authority ............................................................... 26 The Dominant Values and Ostensible Purpose of Sport .............................................................. 28 The Role of the Coach .................................................................................................................. 30 The Identities and Behaviours of Athletes ................................................................................... 31 Sports and Violence ..................................................................................................................... 34 Sportsnets and a Near-Total Institution ...................................................................................... 36 Exclusions in Sport ................................................................................................................... 38 Gender and Sport ........................................................................................................................ 39 Gender Segregation in Sport ....................................................................................................... 45 Gender Continuum and Integration ............................................................................................ 47 Sexual Minorities and Sport ......................................................................................................... 50 Changing sport: An Increase in Inclusivity ................................................................................. 52 Changing Youth Sports ................................................................................................................ 52 Changing Sport for Fans ............................................................................................................... 54 Softer Masculinities ..................................................................................................................... 56 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 56 Chapter 3: Sexualities and Masculinities .......................................................................... 58 Thinking About Sexuality and Gender ....................................................................................... 58 Defining Sexuality ........................................................................................................................ 58 Measuring Sexuality .................................................................................................................... 61 Studying Bisexuality ..................................................................................................................... 63 Understanding Homophobia and Biphobia ................................................................................. 65 Thinking About Masculinity ...................................................................................................... 68 Theorising Orthodox Masculinity: Homophobia and Homohysteria ........................................... 70 Jock Culture and Lad Culture ....................................................................................................... 76 Inclusive Masculinity Theory .................................................................................................... 79 Critiques of Inclusive Masculinity Theory .................................................................................. 81 The Effects of Cultural Inclusivity .............................................................................................. 84 Inclusive Masculinities and the Changing Nature of Sports ........................................................ 84 Metrosexuality ............................................................................................................................. 86 Breaking Gender Boundaries ....................................................................................................... 90 Bromances ................................................................................................................................... 91 The Erasure of the One Time Rule of Homosexuality .................................................................. 94 The Expansion of Sexual Identities .............................................................................................. 94 Hypermasculinification ................................................................................................................ 96 Ongoing Social Issues ............................................................................................................... 97 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................. 98 Chapter 4: Methodology .................................................................................................. 99 A Qualitative