The present study explores the experiences of 12 gay and queer males within the sport of marathoning. Working within an anti-positivist paradigm that draws on queer and poststructuralist gender theories, as well as a Foucauldian perspective of the body, I investigate subjects' discursive constructions of sexuality, gender, and the body within the context of this individual sport milieu. Gathered through guided conversations, written personal stories, and my reflexive research journal, subjects' narratives were analyzed thematically and then submitted to a discourse analysis. While revealing the subjects' recitation of dominant discourses regarding gay sexuality, the analysis also suggested marathoning as a "queer positive" space for the participants. Analysis also uncovered some resistance to dominant constructions of sporting masculinity, but also an emergent masculinity specific to the marathon context that re/produced a traditional gender order. Though interpellated by dominant discourses, subjects also "blurred" the traditional rigid boundaries of sexuality and gender binaries. Finally, the subjects' discursive constructions of their bodies and marathon practices were also considered. I have suggested that queer marathon bodies can be considered as "hybrid" creations through the adoption of subject positions within dominant discourses of physical activity, running, and popular representations of gay male physicality. In focusing specifically on an individual sporting space, this study adds a unique perspective to the growing body of knowledge related to gay men in sport.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/27228 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Bridel, William |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 231 p. |
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