Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boise State University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-92). Also available online via the ProQuest Digital Dissertations database.

Female wrestlers live in paradoxical worlds on and off the mat. Wrestling is a traditionally masculine activity, demanding specific gender performances, while the social world has different gendered expectations for women. Using grounded theory analysis of qualitative interviews with ten Canadian female wrestlers. this research explores and examines wrestlers' experiences across contexts in order to understand the potential effects of wrestling on wrestlers' gender performances and the social definition of femininity. On the mat, wrestlers' performances incorporate masculine qualities, including assertiveness, competitiveness, confidence, and independence. Off the mat, wrestlers display normatively feminine qualities, including attentiveness to appearance, displays of heterosexuality, sociability, and emotionality. They also retain several of their on-the-mat masculine characteristics, resulting in less traditionally feminine displays in contrast to the hegemonic norm. Wrestlers' performances may affect the social definition of femininity by displaying an alternative performance of femininity, and by expanding the limitations of what is considered feminine.